Mbappe names Cristiano Ronaldo as his idol ahead of Lionel Messi and World Cup final goal vs Croatia is his favourite
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN star Kylian Mbappe has labelled Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo as his idol ahead of Lionel Messi and team-mate Neymar.
The 21-year-old revealed earlier in the year how the Portuguese legend continues to inspire him, and the French striker has once again gushed over the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Ronaldo is also known to be a huge fan of the 2018 World Cup winner as he declared that Mbappe is the future of football.
During a promotional video for Nike, he stated: “Mbappe is the future and the present. He’s a fantastic player, very fast, and he will be the future.”
And in a recent interview with beIN Sports, the 2017 Golden Boy award winner was again quick to praise the ex-Manchester United winger.
Discussing who he looked up to growing up, he confessed: “I had a lot of idols, there was Cristiano who I loved a lot, and during this period we have had Cristiano and Messi.
“I have the chance to play with Neymar who I admired a lot when I was young. They are the players that I admired a lot.”
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Asked whether those players still inspire him, he added: “For sure, when you have the chance to play at the top, you need to take inspiration from the best.”
Mbappe then declared that Ronaldo’s stunning overhead kick against Juventus in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2018 is the best goal he has ever seen.
He said: “The goal of Ronaldo against Gigi (Buffon.)
“I had the chance to play with Gigi and he talked to me about it and the feeling he had when it happened during this legendary goal, so I would say this one.”
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Commenting on his favourite goal, he said: “I would say my goal against Croatia during the final of the World Cup. It was the most important goal I scored until now.
“To select one I have scored is very difficult, because I can remember all of them.
“But I always keep in mind the importance of the match when I scored and the opponent, so I would say that one.”