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#3 Kylian Mbappe - Cristiano Ronaldo
The heir apparent to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe is undoubtedly going to become one of the greatest forwards of our times. He is arguably already being counted in that bracket thanks to his exploits at Paris Saint-Germain and also for the French national side.
Mbappe is one of the fastest players in the world and his excellent footwork and finishing closely resemble that of Cristiano Ronaldo's. Mbappe was so in awe of the Portuguese as a kid that the walls of his room were adorned with an array of Cristiano Ronaldo posters.
Mbappe has also admitted to the same. He has spoken about it on multiple occasions. He once said,
"I had a lot of idols, there was Cristiano (Ronaldo), who I loved a lot, and during this period of time we have had Cristiano and (Lionel) Messi,"
Another time, he said,
“It’s already late for me to have a career like Messi, otherwise I should have stayed in Monaco. So, logically and without wanting to take anything away from Messi, I have to be inspired by Ronaldo’s career.”
“The Bianconeri have always lacked something that makes the difference, but now they really have something with Ronaldo, a player who makes you win the important things.”
#2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Ronaldo Nazario
The lion keeps roaring and refuses to be dethroned. An athlete of the highest order, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, at the age of 38, continues to be one of Europe's finest strikers. A journeyman who traversed through Europe and set stadiums alight wherever he graced, there is no one who comes close to exuding the kind of charisma the Swede does.
But don't let his larger-than-life personality fool you. Even Zlatan is human and idolized someone else in his younger days. Zlatan absolutely admires Ronaldo Nazario and says there will never be another player like O Fenomeno.
When asked about his childhood heroes, Zlatan said,
“It has always been the Brazilian Ronaldo.”
“When he played, everyone wanted to copy it, the movement, that little bag, bam-bam.”
” He had too elegant a style.”
” He was the one who made me stand in front of the television watching the game.”
Ronaldo is still, to this day, regarded in many circles as one of the greatest natural strikers of all time. He used to do things with the football that was nearly inconceivable and used to run rings around defences with his unreal close control and pace and used to give goalkeepers nightmares with his unerring finishing.
#1 Lionel Messi - Pablo Aimar/Ronaldo Nazario
Lionel Messi used to be a big fan of his compatriot and former Argentina international Pablo Aimar. Messi has admitted to modeling his game after Aimar. Well, whatever he has done has worked wonders for him as Messi is easily one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Pablo Aimar used to ply his trade for Benfica and Valencia and the attacking midfielder was a mainstay in the Argentina international side in the opening decade of the 21st century.
“Pablo Aimar was, and is, my idol. I really like to watch him play and I have followed his career since the beginning at River Plate.”
Messi has hailed Ronaldo Nazario as one of his heroes as well.
"Ronaldo was my hero. I loved watching players like (Zinedine) Zidane, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo but Ronaldo was the best striker I've ever seen,"
"I loved watching players like (Zinedine) Zidane, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo but Ronaldo was the best striker I've ever seen. He was so fast he could score from nothing, and could shoot the ball better than anyone I've ever seen,"
