“He has the face of Pele” - Ex-Argentina star Hugo Gatti names 26-year-old as best player in the world ahead of Lionel Messi

Former Argentina star Hugo Gatti has chosen Kylian Mbappe over Lionel Messi as the best player in the world at the moment. The retired goalkeeper heaped praise on the French superstar for his performance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final.

The finale of the tournament in Qatar was arguably one of the greatest games of football ever, given the narrative. A 35-year-old Lionel Messi was in the twilight of his career trying to achieve his boyhood dream, while Mbappe was looking for the second World Cup trophy in his career.

Argentina had an excellent start to the final against France, with Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria getting on the scoresheet in the first half.

Lionel Scaloni's side seemed destined for triumph until Mbappe fired a quick-fire brace late in the second period to draw things level. The match went into extra time and Messi took the lead again for La Albiceleste.

Mbappe once again earned France a lifeline after converting a penalty in the 118th minute. However, his extraordinary performance went in vain as Argentina won 4-2 on penalties.

Hugo Gatti drew attention to Mbappe's performance against Argentina while explaining why he feels the Frenchman is the best player in world football. He told La Nacion:

"No. For me the best in the world is Mbappé. Did you see what he did in the World Cup final? It was Mbappé against Argentina. He's a star. He's lively, he has the face of Pelé. He's not so good now, but what do you expect? Real Madrid is the biggest test bench in the world."

Mbappe has scored 13 goals and provided three assists in 23 games across competitions for Real Madrid this season.

"It would have been fun to play with Cristiano Ronaldo" - Kylian Mbappe after playing 'with great players like Lionel Messi'

After playing with the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappe said he would've liked to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

While they were rivals on the biggest international stage, Mbappe and Messi were teammates at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2022, which would've made for an awkward situation after the World Cup final.

Mbappe's admiration for Ronaldo has been apparent, with the French superstar following in his idol's footsteps to Real Madrid last summer. In a conversation with beIN Sports, he spoke about the five-time Ballon d'Or winner and said (via GOAL):

"I’ve played with great players: Lionel Messi, Neymar, [Antoine] Griezmann, [Paul] Pogba, [Karim] Benzema... It would have been fun to play with Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s going to be very difficult now, but I was lucky enough to play against him, a legend of the sport."