Back in March 2025, Kylian Mbappé made a surprising business move by purchasing a stake in the France SailGP team.
Through his venture capital firm, Coalition Capital, Mbappé became the team’s official charity partner, joining a diverse group of investors global racing championship that includes F1 driver Sebastian Vettel, who sponsors the German team, and actors Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds, co-owners of the Australian team.
In a recent interview with The Athletic, the Real Madrid superstar opened up about his reasons for investing in the team.
“Well, the first thing is that as a French person, I’ve always wanted to support my compatriots,” Mbappé explained. “I’ve always wanted to support French sport, so that was already a first factor.”
He also highlighted the social impact of SailGP: “The second is because SailGP does a lot of things socially for children. And to have been able to involve my foundation with SailGP is really something that fills me with joy because we share a lot of values and we have a lot of projects planned together for the future.”
Founded in 2020, Mbappé’s Inspired by Kylian Mbappé (IBKM) foundation aims to help young people find direction and purpose in their lives. Through his partnership with the French SailGP team, he’s creating opportunities for some of the 98 teenagers and young adults in his program to experience the thrill of high-level competition firsthand.
“I want them to have the freedom to create their own experience, their own memories, because they are the ones who will live it,” he said.
“They’ll also learn the meaning of sacrifice, the meaning of hard work, because they’ll see how much work it takes to get a result, seeing the preparation for a major competition. Of course, I don’t know what they plan to do with their lives in the future, but they will see the mental preparation of the sailors, seeing how much self-control and management of emotions is involved.”
As for his own sailing expertise, Mbappé admitted it’s still limited – but he’s eager to learn and sees it as a potential new passion beyond football.
“I’m a very curious person, and I’m trying to develop myself more and more to gain as much knowledge as possible,” he said. “So it’s really going to be a great learning experience for me because sailing is not an area I know very well.
“I never wanted to close any doors for my post-career. I never wanted to say no to anything, so we’ll see, but I have a lot of work to do before considering what comes after.”
With his commitment to French sport, youth development, and personal growth, Mbappé’s investment in SailGP reflects both his ambitions on and off the pitch – and hints at an exciting future, whether on the football field or the open seas.
