Victim of a sprained right ankle in the final of the Coupe de France, Kylian Mbappé could not have faced his adoptive half-brother, Jirès Kembo Ekoko, in the friendly match against Sochaux on Wednesday August 5. He will not have the opportunity to meet him in the spans of the Parc du Princes with the Sochaux jersey on his back either.
Tested by the resident of Ligue 2 for a week, the 32-year-old striker will not be retained by the Doubien club. “FC Sochaux-Montbéliard will not follow up on this test and wish Jirès Kembo Ekoko the best for the rest of his career,” he announced on Thursday on his website.
Entered into play in the 72nd minute of the preparation match won (2-1) by Sochaux against Sporting Club de Lyon (ex-Lyon-Duchère in National, 3rd division) last Friday, the ex-international hopes tricolor did not taken part in the success (4-2) against Belfort (National 2) on Tuesday.
Unemployed since leaving Turkish club Bursaspor in July 2019, the player trained at Stade Rennais, where he played professionally between 2006 and 2012, will therefore have to find another point of contact to relaunch his career and have the opportunity to cross paths with the one he considers a brother over the next season.
Two weeks ago, Kylian Mbappé posted a photo on his Instagram account alongside his half-brother with the caption “brotherhood”, accompanied by hearts.
Arrived in France from the Democratic Republic of Congo (ex-Zaire) at the age of 6, Jirès Kembo Ekoko was brought up in Bondy by the parents of Mbappé, Fayza and Wilfrid, who became his legal guardian.
After Stade Rennais, he has played in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and therefore Turkey since 2017. Due to knee problems, he has not played with Bursaspor since August 26, 2018. Last season, he s’ was maintained with the Rennes reserve.
