Can Kylian Mbappe vs Erling Haaland replace Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi in the debate on who is football’s greatest of all time? Thea Holland investigates.
Captain of the French national team, 24-year-old Kylian Mbappe has sparked excitement all around the world with his renowned skillset at such a young age.
Norwegian international Erling Haaland hogs headlines every week with his staggering goal tally for defending Premier League champions Manchester City.
Who is the better youngster and are we set for another global rivalry?
Ronaldo and Messi have won 11 of the past 12 Ballons d’Or – being named the best player in the world – between them.
They are undoubtedly two of the greatest players – and have dominated football for over a decade – however they are edging closer to retirement.
Mbappe was named alongside Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar as the most influential footballers on Instagram playing at the 2022 World Cup, and here’s why.
One of his most recognised talents is having a top speed of 23.6mph, making him one of the fastest players of all time.
Compare that to Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt who has a top speed of 27mph.
At 18, Mbappe was signed for Paris Saint-Germain on a transfer worth £130.5million, which made him the most expensive teenage player of all time.
At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Mbappe became the youngest French player to score at a World Cup, and the second teenager to score in a World Cup final.
The youngster finished as the joint second-highest goalscorer as France won the tournament, and won the FIFA World Cup Best Young Player and French Player of the Year for his outstanding performances.
Haaland moved to Manchester City in the summer of 2022 for a fee of £51.2million, a significantly lower amount than Mbappe, although this was down to a release clause in his contract with Borussia Dortmund.
However in that same year, he made his Champions League debut for the club, scoring two goals against Sevilla and becoming the first player to score 25 goals in 20 Champions League appearances.
On October 2, Haaland became the first player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick in three successive home games in City’s 6-3 win against Manchester United, where he also had two assists.
The 22-year-old also became the quickest player in Premier League history to score three hat-tricks in eight league games. This beat the previous record of 48 league games.
Haaland has scored 32 goals in 28 league games so far this season, putting him two goals behind the single season record currently held by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer.
At the same age of 22, Messi had only managed 17 goals from his 33 Champions League appearances for Barcelona whereas Mbappe had an overall goal tally in the Champions League of 24 goals in just 41 appearances.
As for Ronaldo, he had scored no goals in the Champions League in 26 games for Manchester United.
Haaland, at 20 years old, had a record 18 goals in 13 games – 10 more than Messi scored before he turned 21.
The almost unbelievable statistics both Mbappe and Haaland have shown so far is unmatched compared to Messi and Ronaldo – and both stars show potential to be even better than the two current superstars.
The question is, will they live up to their so far exceptional reputation and will they end their careers as football’s greatest players of all time?
