With the World Cup final France – Argentina the Mbappe vs Messi debates have started. Greats of the game and PSG teammates had their own opinions. Opinions in the French camp are somewhat divided.
“Messi is the best player in the world right now,” said Antoine Griezmann after reaching the World Cup final, where he will meet his old Barcelona teammate. “Every team with Messi is of a completely different order.”
His teammate Aurélien Tchouameni sees it slightly differently. “In my opinion, Kylian Mbappe is the best player in the world. And he will prove it on Sunday,” the Real Madrid midfielder responded to his teammate Griezmann’s statement after the victory over Morocco.
His praise for Mbappé does not mean a lack of respect for the Argentine great Messi. “They are two incredible players. This final is a dream for me. It’s incredible, also because we’re playing against the great Messi,” he said.
Its presence does not frighten France. “We now have to recover for Sunday. We are not afraid of Messi,” said Theo Hernández, who put France on the right track with the quick opening goal on Wednesday. “Argentina has an incredible team,” the defender added.
National coach Didier Deschamps realizes that Messi is chasing the world title to definitively secure a place in the history of Argentine football alongside Diego Maradona. “We will do everything humanly possible to prevent that from happening. Eventually one of us will get the third star on the shirt,” he said.
Clarence Seedorf’s verdict
Clarence Seedorf on the other hand thinks Lionel Messi deserves to become world champion. Seedorf spoke to some international media on Thursday about the final battle of the World Cup in Qatar. Of course, it was mainly about the confrontation between the two big stars. However, the former player of Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan does not think it is appropriate to compare Messi and Kylian Mbappé. “That would be disrespectful to Messi,” he remarked.
“Mbappe has done a great job and I love to see him play,” Seedorf told RMC Sport. “When he has the ball, you know something magical is going to happen. But he is a different type of player than Messi. Messi can decide the game from anywhere in the field, Mbappé plays closer to goal because that’s where he makes the difference.”
