Going back to his roots: Footballer Mbappé visits father's homeland

Mbappé, the star forward of Paris Saint-Germain and captain of the French national team, arrived in the Cameroonian capital Yaoundé on Thursday, where he was greeted by hundreds of cheering fans, with traditional dancers performing in his honour.

Smiling widely, the footballer saluted from afar the crowd, who were kept at a distance by police, before being whisked away in an SUV with tinted windows.

He is staying at a hotel complex owned by the family of French former tennis champion-turned-singer, Yannick Noah, who lives in Yaoundé.

On Friday, Mbappé visited a school for deaf and hard-of-hearing children before taking part in a basketball match with retired NBA player Joakim Noah, the son of Yannick. 

Mbappé was also set to participate in a football match against the local team FC Vent d'Etoudi. However, according to French media, it was cancelled for security concerns.

Saturday has the PSG striker head to Cameroon's economic capital, Douala, to visit a school and then go to the island of Djebale, where his father Wilfried Mbappé, is originally from.

His father left Cameroon at a young age to go to France, where he became a football trainer.