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Cristiano Ronaldo is perhaps one of the greatest ever players to kick a football. He is the world record holder for the highest number of goals scored by a footballer in official football matches. As he approaches the latter stages of his career, he has still managed to keep himself in top form and in top shape.
With his blinding speed and breathtaking skills, Kylian Mbappe is a promising youngster who has taken the footballing world by storm. Watching Mbappe play is a pleasure and we can all agree that he will achieve great things.
To put things in perspective, Mbappe is the only player after the great Pele himself to win the FIFA World Cup as a teenager.
Mbappe is a massive fan of Cristiano Ronaldo. So it is no surprise that he wishes to be like his idol. There are striking similarities in the careers of Mbappe and Ronaldo.
#7 The media and fans have appointed a nemesis for both Mbappe and Ronaldo
It is natural for all top athletes to be compared to other top athletes. Ever since the beginning of his career, Ronaldo had been compared to numerous athletes like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney.
However, his rivalry with Lionel Messi is perhaps the most talked about. No rivalry in football comes close to this rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. They are always competing with each other for both individual and collective accolades.
Similarly, we are witnessing a new rivalry taking shape now. Like Mbappe, Erling Haaland is another promising, overachieving youngster who is impressing everyone. Hence, people are starting to compare both these talents. It is possible that we might see another rivalry similar to the Messi vs Ronaldo debate.
#6 Both Mbappe and Ronaldo broke the transfer record as a teenager
In 2003, the world record for a transfer fee paid for a teenager was smashed when Manchester United signed a young Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon. The amount that Manchester United paid for Ronaldo was £12.24 million. Taking inflation into consideration, £12.24 million was a lot of money back then.
In 2017, it was Paris Saint-Germain who broke the transfer record. The Paris-based club broke the transfer record not once but twice. First, they broke the all-time transfer record for the highest transfer fee ever paid for a player when they signed Neymar for €222 million from Barcelona.
PSG then went on to break the transfer record again. They broke the record for the highest amount paid for a teenager by paying a mouth-watering €180 million for Kylian Mbappe.
#5 Ronaldo and Mbappe have similar playing styles
Both Ronaldo and Mbappe have a tendency to show everyone that they are the best players on the pitch. They do not hold back and make sure to perform mesmerizing skills to dazzle the spectators and humiliate the defenders.
Both have a similar playing style, with sharp bursts of speed to fly past defenders and powerful shots with deadly accuracy. Although Ronaldo is unable to do the former as often as he used to due to his age, he is still very effective. They prefer the left side of the pitch and are always the most dangerous players on the field.
#4 Both Mbappe and Ronaldo want to play for Real Madrid
When he was a youngster at Manchester United, Ronaldo had this dream to play for Real Madrid. He explicitly made it known to the public that the next step in his career is in Madrid. Later, Sir Alex wrote that Ronaldo wished to return to the Iberian peninsula and wear the famous old white shirt that Di Stefano once wore.
The same can be said for Kylian Mbappe. He has been in the news recently for expressing his desire to join Real Madrid in the summer transfer window. He has explicitly made his desire clear. He only wants to join Real Madrid.
#3 Both players' moves to Real Madrid was initially blocked
In 2008, everybody thought that Ronaldo would leave Manchester United to join Real Madrid. Even Ronaldo was keen on the move to Madrid. However, Sir Alex was not ready to let him go as he felt that Real Madrid had not been respectful towards Manchester United.
Sir Alex firmly blocked Ronaldo's move. He, however, joined Real Madrid the following year for a world-record fee.
In 2021, Real Madrid went all-out to buy Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain. However, Paris Saint-Germain blocked all approaches from Real Madrid and rejected all the money that they offered.
So far, they have managed to keep Mbappe at the club, but the question is - can they prevent him from leaving next season?
#2 Both Ronaldo and Mbappe have similar international careers with their national teams
Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe have had similar careers with the national teams. As a teenager, both Ronaldo and Mbappe played in the final of a major international competition.
In 2004, Ronaldo played an influential role that helped Portugal reach the final of Euro 2004. Similarly, Kylian Mbappe excelled in Russia to take France to the final of the FIFA World Cup 2018.
Although Ronaldo failed to win the final of the tournament, Mbappe managed to win the World Cup, scoring a goal in the final.
Another similarity is the fact that they have become inseparable from the national team even as teenagers. Most youngsters are generally at the periphery of the national squad activities, but without Mbappe and Ronaldo, their respective national teams were incomplete.
Their national teams were heavily dependent on them from a very young age.
#1 Both Ronaldo and Mbappe have been criticized for being too arrogant
Footballers have always been susceptible to criticism, and perhaps no player has been criticized more than Cristiano Ronaldo. But Ronaldo loves doing what he does best - shutting his critics up with his performance. It has become his trademark style. He always performs well after a particular controversy.
The same can be said about Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe has come under intense scrutiny from the media for his arrogance, a criticism which has also been leveled against Cristiano Ronaldo. However, it is important to know that such arrogance is crucial in an athlete's life as it fuels his desire to perform more and push the limits.
