Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany has kept Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Kylian Mbappe in the same bracket as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Kompany, however, claimed he wouldn't fulfill his potential in France, advising him to move to City and train under Pep Guardiola to unlock his best version.
Mbappe emerged as one of France’s top performers in their 2022 FIFA World Cup opener against Australia on Tuesday night (22 November). The PSG superstar scored one goal and created another as the reigning champions cruised to a 4-1 victory over their Group D rivals.
Burnley coach Kompany was left impressed with his performance against the Socceroos and drew parallels with the great Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The former Belgian skipper said (via the Daily Mail):
“There are few players that give you that feeling: Ronaldinho, Messi, Ronaldo. You have no solutions. If he can keep doing what he does, it's very difficult to limit a player like this... With France they have a big player who can do that.”
Kompany then commented on the Frenchman’s potential departure from the Parc des Princes, claiming that he needed to join up with Guardiola at Manchester City to fulfill his potential.
Kompany added:
“I think that is what we expect him to do [leaving Paris]. (But) he wants to win the Champions League with PSG, it will mean a lot to him. Put the best player with the best coach in the best league in the world and I let you guess who that is! Manchester City, that's when you'll see the best version of him.”
PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe picks up where he left off at the FIFA World Cup
Back in 2018, France’s 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe emerged as one of their best players in the FIFA World Cup final against Croatia. The young forward scored a stunning goal to take Les Bleus to a 4-2 victory, helping them to their second FIFA World Cup.
On Tuesday night (22 November), 23-year-old Mbappe took to the field for France against Australia, once again pitching in with a goal to take them to a 4-1 win. He also added an assist to his tally, superbly setting up Olivier Giroud in the 71st minute.
Having scored five goals in eight FIFA World Cup appearances, the PSG superstar has become France’s leading active goalscorer in the tournament. Another goal would take Mbappe past Zinedine Zidane and draw him level with Thierry Henry as the country’s second-leading goalscorer in World Cup history.
Just Fontaine, who stunningly scored 13 goals in six games at the 1958 World Cup is currently the country’s top scorer.