Whether people like to admit it or not, Kylian Mbappe is the biggest player in football right now. The moment everyone knew would come has finally come; Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are nearing their ends. Although it’s sad, as we may never see anyone like them again, it may be a good thing when people look at it from the bright side, and that’s the emergence of Kylian Mbappe.
The boy knows how good he is, which is why he’s been able to hold PSG by the scruff, negotiating his way into becoming one of the world’s highest-paid players. One big disappointment for him was not being able to secure his second World Cup at just 23 when Lionel Messi’s Argentina beat France in the final, promoting him to call the then PSG player ‘son of a b*tch.’
Former PSG star reveals Kylian Mbappe jokingly called Messi ‘son of a b*tch’
Kylian Mbappe won his first World Cup as a teenager in 2018 when he helped France beat Croatia to land the country its first World Cup trophy since they won it on home soil in 1998. Twenty years later, a newly discovered gem led them to another World Cup triumph, which was the beginning of Kylian Mbappe’s journey into global stardom.
Four years later, he found himself in another final, this time with his club teammate, Lionel Messi, who was on a mission to land his name in history books and seal his spot as the world’s greatest player of all time. Messi did it at the expense of Kylian Mbappe. The Argentine wrote his name in history books, with Mbappe’s hat-trick in the final proving abortive. Former PSG player Javier Pastore later revealed Kylian Mbappe’s reaction when he met him again shortly after the World Cup final.
“I saw Mbappe a couple of months after the final in Qatar when PSG went to train and play a match. I was in the locker room with him, Messi, and Neymar. I congratulated him on the World Cup, and he told me, ‘No, this son of a b*tch Messi who beat us in the World Cup’ as a joke as if saying that Leo had won it alone,” Pastore said per GOAL.
Pastore himself played for PSG from 2011 to 2018, becoming a part of the club’s golden era, playing alongside the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Ezekiel Lavezzi, and many more. He also spent one season playing alongside Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, who both joined the club in 2017.
Mbappe draws Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo comparison
It’s understandable how easy it is for people to compare Kylian Mbappe to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The truth is, he’s the best of both players, which is why he’s the biggest soccer player in the world at the moment. Although Mbappe plays a lot more like Ronaldo than Messi, he has some of the Argentine’s traits, and this is why he’s mostly unstoppable for defenders.
Former PSG and Argentina player Javier Pastore spoke of Kylian Mbappe’s mindset and compared him to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. “I spoke a lot with Kylian; he is a very focused boy. He lost a final, and the next day, he was already thinking about the next thing he was going to win. He has an incredible mentality,” the former PSG No. 10 said.
“I’m surprised by how serious he is at that age. That seriousness had only been seen in Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. In new generations, it is very difficult to find the concentration and seriousness that Kylian has. I don’t see it in other young people; maybe I do in Erling Haaland,” he added.
While Messi and Ronaldo are enjoying their retirement packages in the MLS and Saudi Pro League, respectively, Mbappe is about to make the move of his life: an impending summer move to Real Madrid.
