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#3 Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund
Erling Haaland is fresh off a whirlwind season which saw him play for two clubs across over four competitions, breaking a host of records in the process. The Norwegian forward was in sumptuous form in the 2019/20 campaign, announcing himself to the world in as grand a manner as he could have imagined.
Haaland stole the show in the T-Mobile Bundesliga scoring a staggering 16 (!) league goals in just 11 starts for RB Salzburg. He continued his rich goalscoring form even after his winter move to Borussia Dortmund, where he managed 13 and set up a further two for the Germans.
Remarkably, although Dortmund didn't make it past the UCL round of 16, Haaland ended the tournament as the second-highest scorer with ten strikes to his name, only behind Robert Lewandowski.
The 20-year-old has, in the past, spoken of his admiration for the all-time highest UCL goalscorer, Ronaldo, on more than one occasion. Speaking on the former Manchester United legend, Haaland said;
"I would love to meet him [Cristiano Ronaldo] and tell him that I am a footballer thanks to him. For me, he was always a model."
On another occasion, Haaland revealed how he drew inspiration from the 35-year-old's mentality and approach to games. The Norwegian explained;
"You could just see it in Ronaldo’s face that 'today I’m the man' and 'today, I will score goals.' And that’s what he did. That’s what I like the best. How dedicated and hungry they are to succeed and to be the man in the moment."
Haaland would hope to replicate his surreal goalscoring feats in Germany as he prepares for his first full season with Dortmund.
#2 Marcus Rashford | Manchester United
Marcus Rashford has a unique edge over other players on this list as he had the fortune of meeting his idol at a very young age. Manchester born and bred, Rashford was part of United's academy from a very early age and was afforded the opportunity to interact with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney at Carrington.
The Englishman is a vastly different player to what the breathtaking Ronaldo was at his age. However, there are many facets of his game which have been modelled around that of Ronaldo's, particularly his free-kick technique. Speaking to United's official website on the Portuguese's influence, Rashford expressed;
"The thing that is a massive eye-opener for me now is I remember when he [Cristiano Ronaldo] first came his talent was arguably one of the biggest talents that we’ve seen at [Manchester] United for a long time. To have him and Wayne [Rooney] in the same team was amazing when you look back. But the way he’s sustained his career and even improved year on year is just amazing."
The Red Devils' 18-goal striker continued,
"People don’t do that at his age, people are usually heading towards the end of their career and their level starts going down a little bit, but he’s just gone up and up and up. For me, there is no bigger inspiration in football."
Rashford enjoyed a career-best campaign with Manchester United in 2019/20 and is all set to spearhead Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side in the upcoming season.
#1 Kylian Mbappe | Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe has the world at his feet. At the age of 21, he already has three league titles, a UCL final appearance, and a FIFA World Cup to his name, among a host of other individual honours.
Mbappe is already one of the most devastating attackers in world football, and has the time and potential to go on and become one of the greatest players of his generation.
The French star was simply unstoppable in the recent-concluded campaign as well, notching up 18 goals and five assists in just 20 Ligue 1 games. Mbappe was pivotal to PSG's UCL run as well, scoring and assisting a total of ten goals for the finalists.
The World Cup winner is a huge admirer of Cristiano Ronaldo. In fact, back when Mbappe began to receive widespread coverage after his heroics with AS Monaco, there was a famous image that emerged of the young striker's bedroom which had Ronaldo's pictures all over the walls.
Speaking on his childhood idols, Mbappe unsurprisingly revealed that he looked up to his compatriot Zinedine Zidane and the Portuguese icon. The PSG star explained;
"My first idol was Zinedine Zidane for everything he achieved with the national team [France]. And then it was Cristiano Ronaldo. Cristiano has won so much and still continues to be a winner even after so much success. They have both left their mark in the history of the game and I want to leave my own chapter in the history books."
Mbappe would hope to put his UCL final heartbreak behind him as PSG's 2020/21 Ligue 1 campaign is set to begin shortly. The 21-year-old is also a well-documented Real Madrid target, and a move to the Santiago Bernabeu could help him follow the footsteps of both his childhood idols.
Also read: 5 Greatest career achievements of Cristiano Ronaldo
