5 reasons why Kylian Mbappe could become better than Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar

There are only a handful of players in history who could boast being among the top 7 best footballers in the world at the age of 18. One of the footballers who can is Kylian Mbappe, who was judged as the 7th best player in the world for 2017 in the Ballon d’Or rankings.

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The last time an 18-year-old player caused such shockwaves in European football was Lionel Messi—and we all know how he turned out to be. Cristiano Ronaldo was another player who set Europe alight in his teenage years and he also didn’t turn out half-bad either.

And Neymar? He has been in the news since his mid-teens in Brazil and his development is right in front of us to witness. In this era, Kylian Mbappe is that player. There is, however, a chance that he could go on to be better than both Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo—and here’s why…

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#5 Already a star

While Cristiano Ronaldo might have had his breakthrough at a very young age, not even he can boast about being one of the top 10 best players in the world at the age of 18. In fact, a glance at the Ballon d’Or list of 2003 would reveal that the Portuguese player wasn’t even there in the top 25.

In this regard, Lionel Messi too will have to hide in the shadows as he wasn’t on the top 25 list for the Ballon d’Or for 2005—when the Argentine himself was 18. Neymar, too, was 19 when he first shot himself to the top 25 list of the Ballon d’Or in 2011.

And Kylian Mbappe was not only in the top 25, he was among the best 7 players last year, which was only his first year as a regular in competitive football. All of this was possible due to…

#4 European brilliance at 18

The world at his feet

It wasn’t before Cristiano Ronaldo was in his 20s when he scored his first Champions League goal. Neymar did it at 21 when he joined Barcelona in 2013, so he could be given the benefit of the doubt here.

Messi, meanwhile, was 21 when he scored 20 or more goals in a season. The Argentine also had to wait till he was 20 to score 6 goals in the Champions League. Mbappe, however, achieved all of that at the mere age of 18.

Keeping the personal achievements aside, his brilliance helped Monaco to win the Ligue 1 despite the riches of Paris-Saint Germain. Not only that, they reached the semi-final of the Champions League and only got beaten due to the astute defence of Juventus.

And against them, too, Mbappe scored.

#3 Influential among the big fishes

A star among stars

It was clear that Mbappe, within just a season, had outgrown AS Monaco. With so many clubs surrounding him like vultures in a bid to prise him away from the club of his development, PSG ultimately won the race with the best financial package of them all.

At PSG, he was joining a team with a plethora of star players like Edinson Cavani, Thiago Silva, Angel di Maria, Julian Draxler, Marco Verratti and the recently acquired Neymar. He was no longer the biggest fish in the pond.

He was just another big fish among the other big—if not bigger—fishes.

Playing with better players doesn’t always mean that a said player will improve. At Monaco, he had the freedom to move the way he wants. At PSG, only Neymar has that privilege. And even then, the teenager has 15 goals and 11 assists in 29 games this season.

And he just turned 19 two months ago.

#2 More of a team player

A team player

It would be a lie to claim that Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo have not served their respective teams well—because they have—but Kylian Mbappe seems like a better team player than the duo. Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar had—and still have—a tendency to be a bit selfish on the pitch, avoiding team-mates in better positions.

With Neymar at Barcelona, that part of his game was perhaps suppressed due to the presence of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. At PSG now, however, it has once again come up. Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, always had an individualistic sense about his game.

Mbappe, however, knows when to go for a chance himself and when to pass it to a team-mate—an ability much akin to that of Lionel Messi—which is why he would be a better player for a team than Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.

#1 Less sass, more football

Mbappe could break this holy trio

When a youngster who only just played his first full season as a regular in top-flight football gets so much attention and limelight, it is only natural to lose track. One of the most striking thing about Kylian Mbappe, however, is that he always seems focused on the football.

While both Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo kept developing with composure, Mbappe just seems to be more mature than them when they were in their teens. Neymar, in particular, has a tendency for the extravagant in his off-field life.

The Brazilian has been accused of faking injuries in order to be with his sister for her birthday. On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo has a tendency to lash out at critics and haters. One can never really forget how he threw a reporter’s mic in a pond during the Euros in 2016 or his comments about being “rich, handsome and a great player” that causes people to be “jealous” of him.

So far, Mbappe hasn’t shown signs of such misdemeanours, which is all the more reason for us to believe that he could be better than the duo.