Football manager, Jose Mourinho has backed Kylian Mbappe to emerge as the heir to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo when their remarkable careers come to an end.
Messi and Ronaldo have been top of the game since 2003, scooping an astonishing ten Ballons d’Or between them since 2008.
Juventus striker Ronaldo is the second top goalscorer in history with 772 goals and has won five Champions League trophies while Messi is Barcelona’s all-time top scorer with 744 strikes and has broken lots of LaLiga records.
Now, Mourinho, coach of Roma FC, says Mbappe is the next king of football.
Mbappe has 163 goals to his name at just 22 years of age, and Mourinho feels Mbappe can lead France to Euro 2020 glory.
“When you have Mbappe on your side it’s very difficult not to win, it’s much easier to win,” Mourinho told talkSPORT.
“He’s one of those players that wins matches, scares opponents, pushes opposition to change their approach because of his qualities.
“With Messi and Ronaldo going to their late 30s, I think he’s the next one.”
Mourinho then praised Les Bleus’ coach Didier Deschamps who led France to win the World Cup in 2018.
“Didier was a very good coach at club level and then he went to the national team with all his experience and values, I think he’s a fantastic coach for the national team,” Mourinho added.
“He’s not afraid of big decisions and not afraid of hard decisions to make or even a decision that the public wouldn’t appreciate.
“He doesn’t care if Giroud is not playing for Chelsea, he still plays him. He doesn’t care that [Karim] Benzema is playing amazing for Real Madrid. He doesn’t select him.
“He knows exactly what he wants and he’s very respected in the country. If I had to say one team to win it, I would have to say them as their group of players is fantastic.”
