“Never going to be close” - Cristiano Ronaldo’s ex-teammate makes interesting comparison of Lionel Messi rivalry with Mbappe vs Haaland

Cristiano Ronaldo's former teammate Louis Saha has compared the rivalry Ronaldo had with Lionel Messi to that of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. The two young strikers are widely seen as the next duo to take on world football while fighting for the highest accolades.

Mbappe looks set to move from Paris Saint-Germain, where he has won everything but the Champions League, to Real Madrid this summer. Erling Haaland, on the other hand, has already left Borussia Dortmund for Manchester City, where he has won a continental treble.

The two players are set to become the next duopoly of football, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo now out of Europe and on other continents.

Kylian Mbappe has an absurd return of 287 goals and 126 assists in just 370 career games. Erling Haaland also has a truly remarkable return of 223 goals and 51 assists in 277 career games.

While Louis Saha can see the duo matching each other up, he does not believe they will hit the rivalry heights that Ronaldo and Messi got to. The former Manchester United striker said in an interview with OLBG (via DAZN):

“Those are the two players in this era who have simply topped their talent, their potential. You can’t ask much more. You will never see it again.

"You may have Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe fighting for 10 years but it’s never going to be close in terms of greatness, if they want to catch Messi and Ronaldo then they have to score 50 goals a season for the remainder of their careers, it’s impossible.”

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Lionel Messi was desperate to beat Cristiano Ronaldo to Ballon d'Or awards: Jamie Carragher

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been at the very top of world football for the better part of the last two decades. They have exceeded expectations in every regard, winning a combined 13 Ballons d'Or. However, Messi came off with more wins, racking up eight to Ronaldo's five.

Although they have both now left the continent, with Ronaldo playing in Saudi Arabia and Messi playing in the United States, the debate about the better player still rages.

Jamie Carragher, speaking to Football365 (via Daily Post) feels that the Argentine legend would have been "desperate" to get one over his Portuguese counterpart:

“People think of it more from a Ronaldo point of view that he was all about himself, but I still think Messi was desperate for those Ballons d’Or as well and to beat Ronaldo, no doubt about it."

It is unlikely that the two players will share the same pitch again unless Messi's Inter Miami and Ronaldo's Al-Nassr decide to meet in a friendly, with both players fully fit.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 32 goals and provided 10 assists in 27 league games this season, while Lionel Messi has 10 goals and nine assists in just eight league games.