Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have achieved countless milestones and broken plenty unthinkable records in football, but Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are proving that the sport will be just fine without them.
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I hold dear to my heart the truckload of memories Messi and Ronaldo have given me, but it's time to admit that there is indeed a bright future without them. Mbappe and Haaland might not spend the next decade as sworn rivals, but their impact on the sport will be just as valuable. You've been there, I've been there, we've all been there, in heated debates with your friends or colleagues about Messi vs Ronaldo, and whether or not they're the two greatest players of all time. The topic has been popular for longer than we expected it to be, so long I find myself less and less interested in engaging in it. But I'm not sure you've heard, but there's a new debate forming, one I could definitely sink my teeth into. This isn't about that, though. This isn't about Mbappe vs Haaland and who might be the better footballer. This is about acknowledging that what we once deemed impossible is, with every passing week, becoming possible. In fact, probable. The scoring records we thought would never be broken are being broken. A war on that old, once widely believed narrative is being waged by two elite players who are proving that life without Messi and Ronaldo will not just go on, but will be great.
Let's start with Mbappe, a 24-year-old world-famous superstar who has already played and scored in two FIFA World Cup finals. For France, he has contributed to an incredible 62 goals in just 5 124 minutes of game time, meaning he needs just 82 minutes to impact a scoreline. Consider that. In 68 caps, he has been consistent in requiring less than a full 90 minutes to make his mark every time he turns out for Les Bleus. For Paris Saint-Germain, however, is where things get even more ridiculous. After 252 appearances for the French giants, whom he joined (initially on loan) from Monaco in 2017, Mbappe needs on average just 67.4 minutes to play a hand in a goal. Haaland follows a similar trend in England. The Norwegian is contributing to a goal every 59.4 minutes for Manchester City, having already found the net on 45 occasions in his debut season in England. The Leeds-born striker needs just three more goals to break the record for the most goals scored in a single 38-match campaign and has nine matches left to do it. In the UEFA Champions League, Haaland, like Mbappe, has already surpassed legends such as Wayne Rooney, Samuel Eto'o and Arjen Robben in the scoring ranking, with more high-profile players expected to see the two players breeze past them in the coming seasons. Mbappe, with 40 goals in the competition, is just 10 strikes away from Thierry Henry, who is eighth on the list of all-time top scorers in Europe's biggest club competition. Haaland, meanwhile, is just six goals behind the Frenchman.
And then there's their obvious star quality. While we're so desperate to liken their inevitable coming decade of dominance to what we saw from Messi and Ronaldo, particularly when they both played for the two biggest clubs in Spain – Barcelona and Real Madrid – both Mbappe and Haaland are one of a kind. Yes, they've each referenced Ronaldo among their childhood heroes, but they're growing into personalities that, while inspired by those before them, stand out as remarkably unique. Mbappe is a confident and driven young man who understands his responsibilities as a role model to young kids around the world, and Haaland, while a little more playful than the new France captain, rarely finds himself satisfied after scoring just a few goals in a game. In fact, one of the first things he pointed out after scoring five times against RB Leipzig in City's second-leg round of 16 UCL win over the German side was that he should have scored more.
One day, there'll be kids who speak about Mbappe and Haaland as the two greatest goalscorers who ever lived. You'll have a different viewpoint. You'll say you grew up watching Messi and Ronaldo, you'll argue that Messi and Ronaldo were the two footballers who inspired those that followed and therefore their impact on the sport holds a greater significance. But just the fact that Mbappe and Haaland will enter the conversation leaves me feeling like the beautiful game is in good hands. Let the fun begin!
Written by @KurtLaduma
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