Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand believes PSG forward Kylian Mbappe will 'take the crown' from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the near future.
The 42-year-old made this observation after Kylian Mbappe's brilliant hat-trick in the first leg of PSG's Round-of-16 fixture against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.
The Frenchman's hat-trick, along with a header from Moise Kean, led PSG to a 4-1 victory over the Blaugrana on Tuesday, putting them in pole position to qualify for the quarter-finals of Europe's elite competition.
Kylian Mbappe rose to prominence while at Monaco but caught the attention of the world with his performances for France at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The 22-year-old moved to PSG in a deal worth €180 million that summer. He has since established himself as one of the best players in Europe.
Manchester United great Rio Ferdinand believes Kylian Mbappe will soon take over the football throne from the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He told BT Sport:
"This guy will take over the throne from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo one day. This is a statement from Mbappe. Mbappe is on his own, out of the young players, he's on his own. He's won the World Cup and been immense in the Champions League."
"He will take the crown from Messi and Ronaldo and be there, he's standing alone at the moment and it's up for other players to catch up with him now."
Kylian Mbappe could be considered the best player in the world if he achieves Champions League success with PSG
Kylian Mbappe has achieved a lot of success in his young career. Apart from the Champions League title, he has won everything there is to win for both club and country.
The former Monaco man joined PSG with hopes of winning the Champions League alongside the likes of Neymar and Angel Di Maria. The French giants had a chance to do so last season but fell short at the final hurdle, losing to Bayern Munich in the final.
Many believe that Kylian Mbappe should move to clubs like Real Madrid or Barcelona if he wants to become the best player in the world. However, the forward will make a strong case for himself if he can lead PSG to the highly coveted Champions League title this season.