Looks like there’s a new Audemars Piguet in his collection – one that says “I’m still locked in” rather than “I’m taking a victory lap”
At the tender age of 21, Kobbie Mainoo is putting the energy of youth towards slightly grander goals than the rest of us: establishing himself as one of England’s most exciting young footballers, rather than finding out exactly how many pints you can sink while still being able to make tomorrow’s 9am meeting.
He’s been even busier than usual in the last week or so, signing a new five-year contract with Manchester United, where he’s played since his youth-team days, and then, on Sunday, scoring a 77th-minute goal for said club to seal their 3-2 win over Liverpool.
So: it’s a great time to be Kobbie Mainoo, and Mainoo knows it too. Despite his age he’s been rocking a serious collection of watches for some time now, notably a couple of Rolexes in the form of a “Root Beer” GMT Master II and an olive-dial Day-Date.
But he seems to have celebrated his first contract after his teens by wearing the classic big-deal footballer’s watch to the signing ceremony: an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.
It’s a nifty one too, which suits Mainoo’s status as a dynamo midfielder who can get the ball to wherever it needs to go.
Though you’ll usually see men’s Royal Oaks sized in the 41mm to 44mm ballpark, this model is just 38mm, as with most chronograph versions of the watch.
And there’s not much in the way of flashy metals, jewels or colouring: it’s steel, with a grey tapisserie-pattern dial and silver subdials.
Perhaps he made the purchase by dropping in at the newish AP House in Manchester, which opened around this time last year and is one of only two in the UK, the other being in London.
After all, if you’re busy scoring goals on match days and training on off days, you don’t really want to have to travel across the country to pick up a new watch.
(There’s probably a sitcom to be written about the various City and United players who must be constantly running into each other at the showroom – someone get on that.)
Anyway, this is a watch that strikes the right balance between unshowy functionality and refined performance.
Which is what you want, really, when you’ve accomplished a lot at a young age, but still have ample hunger to accomplish a lot more. Mainoo has plenty of time – and probably plenty of good excuses to come – to buy flashier things. Until then, there’s the next match.
cc:gq-magazine.