If there is one man who has been garnering all the limelight in the past few days in the world of football, it is none other than the French talisman Kylian Mbappe.

Be it his unfaithful tryst with Real Madrid or his appearance at the coveted Cannes Film Festival, Mbappe has been flirting with the media and their apprentices all day long.

The 23-year-old seems to be having a gala time with his small entourage, enjoying lavish dinners and clicking photographs with anyone who can put his arm around him. 

Keeping this vision in mind, the Paparazzi spotted Mbappe on a boat from afar and clicked him, laughing and swirling around a woman in her arms at Cannes. Although it’s no surprise for a footballer to be surrounded by women, this one particular woman in Mbappe’s arms has drawn quite a reaction from fans on social media.

A bare-chested Mbappe was seen talking to this woman who is now been identified as Ines Rau, a transgender model of Algerian descent. Ines who had a sex reassignment surgery at 16 has a diverse career of modelling and, as a dancer, performing for DJs in Ibiza, especially for David Guetta. 

Ines was also Playboy magazine’s ‘Playmate of the month’ for their November issue, making her the first openly transgender woman to be featured that way. 

This photo has sparked rumours of Mbappe being involved with Ines, but since no other evidence exists, it is hard to confirm that the woman in her arms is really his girlfriend. 

The reaction, however, was of shock and awe as few fans commented that is Mbappe really into transgenders now? While some didn’t seem to care at all and praised him for keeping an open mind. There has been no official comment from the Mbappe’s camp as well, but seeing his recent form, Mbappe is a bold figure who doesn’t care about the opinions of others. 

It’s hard to keep a footballing superstar out of sight and out of mind when he keeps popping up with one news story or the other. We might never know if he’s dating Ines Rau, but even if he turned down Real Madrid, it’s hard for him and his team to keep the camera at bay.