‘It’s Clear’—Kylian Mbappe Ranks Himself Against Messi, Haaland, Kane

All four have enjoyed goal-laden starts to the World Cup.

Kylian Mbappé (left) did not need long to think. | Kevin C. Cox/Masashi Hara/Stefan Koops/EYE4IMAGES/NurPhoto/Joe Prior/Visionhaus/Getty Images

Kylian Mbappé did not hesitate as he insisted Harry Kane, Erling Haaland and himself cannot be compared to Argentina superstar Lionel Messi.

The quartet have all enjoyed fruitful starts to the World Cup this summer. Messi leads the way on three goals, one ahead of Kane, Haaland and Mbappé after the opening round of fixtures, and the French forward was asked to pick the best player out of that group.

“The best of the four players? Lionel Messi,” he laughed without even taking a moment to think. “It’s clear. He’s the best in the world with Cristiano [Ronaldo], it’s clear.

“He’s showed during 15 years that he had an amazing quality. Me, I try to do what I can do, I show my quality on the biggest stage, helping my team to win another World Cup.

“The rest is a debate for the people, a debate for the journalists, a debate for the fans of football, and I think it is good to debate about the players to see who is the best, who performed better ... but for me, it’s not a question in my head. It’s just about how I can help my team.”

Compete against the world. | SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

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Mbappé: Messi’s Pursuit of World Cup Scoring Record No Surprise

Messi is in pursuit of history. | Masashi Hara/Getty Images

A hat trick in Argentina’s 3–0 win over Algeria saw Messi fly up the World Cup scoring charts, moving him level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the leading scorer in tournament history with 16 strikes.

Messi’s pursuit of the record has dominated the headlines, so much so that Mbappé’s rapid climb towards the top of the rankings has flown under the radar. The Real Madrid forward now has 14 goals at the competition from just 15 games ahead of Monday’s meeting with Iraq.

“I already knew Messi was going to keep scoring goals,” Mbappé continued. “He always does. He’s ahead of me and I’m behind him. I’ll keep scoring to help my national team go as far as possible.

"When you score goals, you've got a better chance of going far, and I want to win the World Cup."

Mbappé, Messi and Haaland are all back in action at the World Cup on Monday as Argentina faces Austria, France meets Iraq and Norway takes on Senegal. Kane, meanwhile, will hope to add to his own goal tally for England against Ghana on Tuesday.

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How Mbappé’s World Cup Record Compares to Messi, Kane, Haaland

Statistic	Kylian Mbappé	Lionel Messi	Harry Kane	Erling Haaland
Tournament Appearances	3	6	3	1
Games Played	15	27	12	1
Goals	14	16	10	2

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