With all that Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe has accomplished in the game at the age of just 25, it would not be unreasonable to think he could surpass the achievements of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
He has perhaps been unfortunate to have entered the game at a time in which two of the greatest players to have ever played the game were embroiled in a battle that left little room for anyone else to feature. When the French attacker burst on to the scene as a teenager for AS Monaco, the world's attention was still fixed on the two players who now have 13 Ballon d'Or awards between them and the battle they were immersed in.
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However, fast-forward to 2023 and the landscape of the game is changing. As the Portuguese and the Argentine reach the latter stages of their career, Mbappe is about to reach the peak of his powers. With the former kings in the process of relinquishing their thrones, there must be a successor. Not only can the Frenchman become that, but he can evolve into more.
Mbappe turned 25 on Wednesday, and celebrated his birthday by scoring two goals to help PSG to a 3-1 victory over FC Metz that saw his side retain top spot on the Ligue 1 table. Before reaching that personal landmark, the France international has already decorated his trophy cabinet with the type of silverware most players could only ever dream of.
He is a six-time French champion (winning it once with Monaco and five times with PSG), and a 2018 FIFA World Cup winner. He scored four goals to help his nation lift that trophy. Individually, he was voted French footballer of the year on three occasions, he was Ligue 1's Player of the Year last season, and is a five-time winner of Ligue 1's Golden Boot award.
The accolades he has managed to bag so far informs us that he is a high-performing individual. However, what would indicate that he could surpass the brilliance of Ronaldo and Messi?
Well, aside from the fact that the Argentine had to wait until he was 35 years of age to get his hands on a World Cup trophy, the numbers suggest that PSG's talisman is a better player than the iconic duo were when they were at his age. While Mbappe has over 300 career goals to date, Ronaldo had 160 at the age of 25 while Messi had 279, per Planet Football via GiveMeSport. The French forward also has more assists than the pair did, and they are considered to be among the greatest goalscorers in history.
It also seems as though people forget that Mbappe almost single-handedly led his team to a second consecutive World Cup triumph in Qatar last year, scoring a hat-trick in a dramatic comeback that took the game to a penalty shootout.
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Although it could be argued that two of his goals in that match came from penalties, it must be acknowledged that, in such a game, the hopes of an entire nation rest on the shoulders of the penalty-taker. With that comes extreme pressure, and he handled it on two occasions. It showed his big-game temperament and his elite mentality – a recipe for greatness.
Opinion by Junaid Benjamin
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