Ronaldo-Esque Kylian Mbappe Hailed As Better Than Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Maybe Even Prime Thierry Henry
Kylian Mbappe is the best forward in world soccer right now, according to former Manchester United players Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves.
Both agree that Mbappe is superior to Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, while Hargreaves believes that the current France captain could go on to become even better than Thierry Henry.
Mbappe, 25, scored two excellent goals on Tuesday night as Paris Saint-Germain won 2-1 away at Real Sociedad to seal a 4-1 aggregate victory and a spot in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Kylian Mbappe scored twice for Paris Saint-Germain against Real Sociedad on Tuesday
IMAGO/NurPhoto/Jose Breton
Harry Kane also netted twice on Tuesday as Bayern Munich beat Lazio 3-0 in Germany to prevail 3-1 on aggregate.
Kane and Mbappe were tied on six goals each in the race for this season's UCL Golden Boot following Tuesday's games.
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland was sat just behind on five goals ahead of Manchester City's home game against FC Copenhagen on Wednesday.
After Ferdinand and Hargreaves had reviewed Tuesday night's highlights on TNT Sports, they were asked by presenter Laura Woods: "If you could only put one of those three in your team, who would you be picking?"
Woods had barely finished her question before Ferdinand replied: "Mbappe, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Hargreaves quickly agreed: "Yeah, Mbappe. He's just different."
Ferdinand then said: "They're all great. There's no bad or wrong answer here really, but... Mbappe man.
"I'd pay everyday to watch him train let alone play in a match, because he creates things on his own. I can give him the ball at left-back and he might score.
"I can give him the ball anywhere on the pitch and he could create something.
"The other two not so much. They are great, don't get me wrong. Haaland, you play him through from the halfway line and he can carry two center-halves on his back.
"I'd take any of them. I'd take all three and I'd be quite happy. But Mbappe's just got that something different that would make me sit up at night and go: 'Thank you, God.'"
Once Ferdinand was finished praising Mbappe, Hargreaves compared him to one of the most iconic strikers of all time.
Hargreaves boldly stated: "He's R9, isn't he? He's the Brazilian Ronaldo. He moves... just different."
Owen Hargreaves thinks that Mbappe is very similar to Brazil legend Ronaldo (pictured in 2002)
IMAGO/Ulmer
Ferdinand then decided to pose a question of his own by asking Hargreaves: "Who would you take? Thierry prime time or Mbappe?"
After puffing out his cheeks, Hargreaves responded: "Well, Mbappe's got to have a body of work as Thierry to back it up, but talent-wise Mbappe is on a trajectory almost unparalleled.
"With Thierry, the longevity was remarkable. I think Kylian's on a trajectory which is remarkable. He's already won the World Cup and he's going to win the Ballon d'Or, that's for sure."
Henry won league titles in France, England and Spain with Monaco, Arsenal and Barcelona respectively. He also won the World Cup in 1998, Euro 2000 and the Champions League in 2009.
Mbappe won the World Cup in 2018, as well as scoring a hat-trick in a losing cause in the 2022 final.
At club level, Mbappe has won six league titles but has not yet played outside of France's Ligue 1.
Mbappe has not yet played for a club outside of the French league system, having started his career at AS Monaco before moving to PSG in 2017
IMAGO/Xinhua/Rit Heize
That is expected to change this summer with Mbappe seemingly poised to move to Real Madrid in Spain.
Ferdinand concluded: "His next move and how he adjusts to that new league that he goes to will be the definitive factor."
Mbappe would love to win a European title before moving to the Bernabeu.
Unlike 14-time champions Madrid, PSG have never won Europe's top club tournament.
Meanwhile, Ferdinand and Hargreaves were both part of Man United's class of 2008 that beat Chelsea in a penalty shootout to win the UCL.
Hargreaves also won the UCL with Bayern in 2001.
