Kylian Mbappe gave a fascinating answer when discussing football legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Mbappe features on Netflix’s new six-episode docuseries that offers an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
It also features insights from England captain Harry Kane as well as former Wales International Gareth Bale and Denmark’s Simon Kjaer.
During the show, the Paris Saint-Germain forward was asked about Messi, who guided Argentina to World Cup glory last year, and Ronaldo.
Kylian Mbappe’s take on the Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debateCredit: Kylian Mbappe0 seconds of 38 secondsVolume 90%
In an interesting perspective, he said Messi and Ronaldo are betters players than him, but he tells himself that he’s the best.
“Messi and Cristiano are better players than me, but I always tell myself that I’m the best,” he said via X account @ManagingBarca.
Mbappe has yet to match the feats of Messi and Ronaldo, who have both won individual and team awards with both club and country.
They’ve won a collective 13 Ballon d’Or’s and between them have won the league titles in England, Spain, France and Italy not to mention the Champions League and international honours.
Mbappe, though, has helped France to international triumph following their World Cup success in 2018.
It’s not the first time the 25-year-old phenom has shared his thoughts on the pair of superstars.
Earlier this year, he was asked whether he can forge a similar rivalry to Messi vs. Ronaldo with Manchester City goal-machine Erling Haaland.
“Things should be read differently. It happens perhaps every fifty years or more to have two players like Messi and Ronaldo at such levels for so long,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We lived through an exceptional era and I hope the fans took advantage of it. I was lucky enough to play against Cristiano and then against and together with Leo: they are truly special. I learned a lot from them, especially with Messi in these two seasons.
“They wrote the history of football: they are eternal.”
Topics: Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Football
Lionel Messi is just one trophy shy of completing football.
The Argentina star picked up a record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or in October, while he has won the World Cup, the Copa America, four Champions Leagues, 10 La Ligas and two Ligue 1 titles to name but a small sample of his enormous trophy cabinet.
There is one individual honour that has continued to allude Messi, however – the Golden Foot award.
The Golden Foot award is given to players who stand out for both their athletic achievements and for their personality.
It is a prize that can only be given to active players of at least 28 years of age, while it can only be won once.
Ten nominees are chosen by a panel of international journalists based on the above criteria, with the winner subsequently selected by an online poll where anyone can vote.
While past winners include Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah, and Messi’s long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, the pint-sized Argentina star has never won the prestigious prize.
Lionel Messi’s bodyguard, Yassine Chueko, ‘appears out of thin air’ in new videoCredit: TheEuropeanLad/Twitter0 seconds of 37 secondsVolume 90%
Of course, having claimed the Ballon d’Or months earlier, Messi is likely to be in contention for the Golden Foot this year.
The 36-year-old is currently enjoying a break before Inter Miami’s pre-season campaign gets underway in the New Year.
Messi completed his first season with Miami in Major League Soccer in October after a summer move from Paris Saint-Germain, but the Florida-based outfit failed to reach the playoffs.
One of the games in Messi’s pre-season schedule will see him renew his rivalry with Ronaldo, as Miami take on Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr.
Messi and Ronaldo, who had won a combined 13 Ballon d’Ors, have been fierce rivals for the past two decades, battling for both team and individual honours across their illustrious careers.
The height of their rivalry came while Messi and Ronaldo were at Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
Topics: Football, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo has responded after being left out of the list of 10 best players of 2023.
Earlier in the week, the IFFHS announced their Men’s World Best Player of 2023.
Manchester City star striker Erling Haaland was named as the best player of the year, beating Paris Saint Germain star Kylian Mbappe and Argentine great Lionel Messi to the award.
Haaland’s teammate, Rodri came fourth, ahead of Jude Bellingham and another City star Kevin de Bruyne.
Cristiano Ronaldo asked if boxing is his second favourite spotCredit: Queensberry Promotions0 seconds of 11 secondsVolume 90%
Harry Kane, Bernardo Silva, Vinicius Junior and Lautaro Martinez completed the top ten.
After being snubbed by IFFHS, Ronaldo was spotted commenting on a post on Instagram which showed the list.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner commented three laughing emojis as well as an eye-covering emoji under the post.
Haaland is only the fifth player to be named the best player by IFFHS.
On their official website, it states: “IFFHS was the first to create the Award of THE WORLD’S BEST PLAYER in 1988. Marco Van Basten (1988 and 1989) and Lothar Matthaus (1990) were the 3 winners (1988 to 1990) before FIFA President Sepp Blatter asked IFFHS to let this World Award to FIFA to become FIFA World Player of the Year.
“Since 2020, the IFFHS has decided to award again IFFHS WORLD’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR and Robert Lewandowski was the winner of the Awards 2020 and 2021, Lionel Messi won in 2022.”
Norwegian superstar striker Haaland has missed City’s last few matches after suffering a foot injury.
When asked about Haaland’s fitness, City boss Pep Guardiola said: “Still he’s not with the team. He feels better with his bone but he hasn’t made one training session with us. Unfortunately December is so congested with so many teams.
“January is so congested. Hopefully in January he can come back with us.”
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Football
Cristiano Ronaldo has beaten Lionel Messi to a major accolade this week – and brought back his iconic ‘Siu’ celebration to honour it.
The Al Nassr forward used to perform the celebration after almost every goal for Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, although has regularly interchanged it while with the Saudi Pro League club.
On the pitch, the 38-year-old has netted 16 goals in 15 Saudi Pro League games this term, and is the league’s top scorer ahead of former Fulham star Aleksandar Mitrovic and ex-Tottenham flop Georges-Kevin Nkoudou.
Off the pitch, Ronaldo remains one of the most recognisable athletes on the planet, and his 615 million followers on Instagram is a higher figure than any other person.
Al Hilal player taunts Cristiano Ronaldo in Riyadh derbyCredit: YashRMFC via X0 seconds of 13 secondsVolume 90%
This week, Ronaldo has achieved another incredible milestone – becoming the most-searched athlete worldwide in the history of the Google search engine.
When you think that Google was founded in 1998 – five years before Ronaldo signed for Manchester United – it is some achievement.
Posting about the milestone on X (Twitter), Ronaldo commented: “Grateful to be honoured as the most searched athlete in Google history.”
He attached a video which saw a number of his fans perform the ‘Siu’ celebration, ending with his own rendition.
Football, meanwhile, is the most-searched sport in the 25-year history of Google.
In 2023, NFL player Damar Hamlin has been the most-searched athlete, after the 25-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest while playing a regular season game against the Cincinnati Bengals in January. By the end of the season, he was able to make a full return to competitive action.
PSG and France’s Kylian Mbappe is ranked second, while NFL star Travis Kelce – the current partner of Taylor Swift – is in third.
NBA star Ja Morant is fourth, while Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane rounds out the top five.
Lionel Messi is not in the top five, but his current side Inter Miami are top of the most-searched clubs in the world following the Argentinian’s move to the US in the summer.
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Saudi Pro League, Al Nassr, Football
Cristiano Ronaldo has been accused of trying to upstage Lionel Messi with his latest social media activity.
Over the years, Ronaldo and Messi have been breaking records left, right and centre as they battled to become the undisputed GOAT of football.
After Messi inspired Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar back in 2022, many feel the Inter Miami star is now the greatest of all time.
However, Ronaldo fans will always fight the Portuguese’s corner.
Cristiano Ronaldo asked if boxing is his second favourite spotCredit: Queensberry Promotions0 seconds of 11 secondsVolume 90%
Now, it seems that they have taken their battle to social media.
Messi posted a picture of him in the gym showing off his abs.
A day later, Ronaldo posted a picture of himself working out.
This has led to fans thinking Ronaldo tried to upstage Messi by posting a picture showing off his physique.
On social media, one fan said: “Ronaldo always trying to upstage Messi hahaha.”
Another tweeted: “My GOAT.”
A third fan added: “Ronaldo posting this a day after Messi is GOAT behaviour.”
After years of playing at the top level of European football, both Ronaldo and Messi have now continued their careers elsewhere.
Back in January, Ronaldo became the first big-name player to ditch Europe for Saudi Arabia after signing for Saudi Professional League side Al Nassr.
Since Ronaldo’s transfer, the likes of Karim Benzema, Roberto Firmino and N’Golo Kante have also moved to the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Messi left French giants Paris Saint Germain for MLS outfit Inter Miami, who are partly owned by former England captain David Beckham.
Messi has since been joined by former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Earlier in the month, it was announced that another former Barcelona teammate, Luis Suarez, has signed for Inter Miami after leaving Brazilian side Gremio.
Suarez said: “I look forward to reuniting with great friends and players.”
