Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? When Kylian Mbappe revealed whose career path he wants to emulate

New Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe said in a January 2020 interview that he would want to follow the career path of Cristiano Ronaldo and not Lionel Messi, who would be his future teammate at PSG.

Ronaldo and Messi are widely regarded as two of the best players in the game's history. During their illustrious careers spanning nearly two decades, both have carved out a niche for themselves, amassing over 800 goals for club and country and winning big titles galore.

Both Ronaldo (39) and Messi (37) are still going strong despite approaching the end of their careers. Currently both stars ply their trade outside Europe, with Ronaldo at Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League and Messi in MLS in the USA.

More than four years after the aforementioned interview, Mbappe has joined his idol Ronaldo's former club, where the Portuguese scored a record 450 times in 438 games across competitions. He told Gazzetta dello Sport about his idols (as per Marca):

"If you're French, then of course you grow up with Zidane as your idol. Another of mine was Cristiano Ronaldo, with whom I've already been able to measure myself against as an opponent, with the national team as well.

Explaining why he would like to emulate Ronaldo's career and not Messi's, Mbappe explained:

"Naturally, upon Cristiano's name being mentioned, Lionel Messi's followed shortly after. But Mbappe feels it's too late to try to emulate the Argentine's career.

"It's too late for me to have a career like Messi. I'd have to have stayed with Monaco. But without taking anything from Messi, I now have to be inspired by Cristiano's career."

Kylian Mbappe has ended his seven-season PSG stay this summer to join Los Blancos as a free agent.

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How Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi fared in their last international tournaments?

Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi

Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi endured underwhelming outings at their respective last international tournaments. Among the three, Messi added another title to his collection, though.

France captain Kylian Mbappe contributed just a goal and two assists in five games as Les Bleus lost 2-1 to eventual winners Spain in the Euro 2024 semi-final. Meanwhile, Ronaldo went scoreless in five games but did contribute an assist as Portugal lost to France on penalties in the quarter-final of the same tournament.

Messi didn't fare much better at the 2024 Copa America, contributing a goal and an assist - both against Canada - in five games as La Albiceleste won back-to-back Copa titles. It marked Messi's record 45th title for club and country.