PSG Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe has showered praise on the talismanic duo of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Both of these players are regarded as two of the best footballers to have ever graced the game and they have definitely revolutionized the sport.
The Frenchman said the duo have changed the way people approached the game. Both Ronaldo and Messi have dominated the game in the last two decades and the rivalry between them has always been interesting for all football fans.
Both of them have pushed each other to the limits and it has helped them in serving as the extra motivation to deliver for their respective clubs and national teams.
Mbappe said while talking to Wall Street Journal, “They changed the way people approach the game,” Mbappé told the newspaper. “I think that’s why their rivalry obsessed so many people. They don’t see soccer the same way. They don’t see life the same way.”
He added: “And they went at it tooth and nail for more than a decade—for me, that was my entire childhood.”
Meanwhile, Messi has won a total of seven Ballon D’or awards in his glorious career whereas Ronaldo has won five of them.
In an interview with New York Times, Mbappe talked about his chances of winning the Ballon D’or in the upcoming season.
“I think I’m about to win it [the Ballon d’Or]. I always say I dream about everything. I have no limits. So of course, like you say, it’s a new generation. And Ronaldo, Messi — you’re gonna stop. We have to find someone else, someone new.”
Mbappe recalled it was always interesting to note the tough battle between Ronaldo and Messi for the prestigious award.
Mbappe had earlier said as quoted by the GOAL, “Every year I wondered who would win the Ballon d’Or, Messi or Cristiano. Who do I prefer? It’s like choosing between your father or your mother, you can’t.”
“As for all those of my generation, the Ballon d’Or is inevitably associated with the battle between Leo and Cristiano. Digging really deep into my memory, I also remember a little bit Ronaldinho (a Ballon d’Or winner in 2005).”
