3 long-term replacements for Lionel Messi at Barcelona
Lionel Messi is arguably the best football player ever and holds the record of winning the joint most Ballon d'Or awards (five), alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Argentine played 649 games for Barca, scoring 564 times. He won nine La Liga titles, four Champions League titles and six Copa del Rey trophies with the club.
However, he is a 31-year-old now and cannot play forever. Barcelona need to prepare for their life after the superstar leaves by signing a long-term replacement for him.
Right on this note, here is a list of three players who can potentially replace Lionel Messi at Barcelona.
#1 Kylian Mbappe
It is hard to believe that Kylian Mbappe is just 19 years of age as the French international achieved great heights at this young age and is considered to be one of the biggest talents in football.
The 'Golden Boy' of 2017, Kylian Mbappe made his debut in 2015 at the tender age of 16 but, got his breakthrough in the 2016-2017 season. He was one of Monaco's star players during that season as they clinched the Ligue 1 title right under the noses of PSG.
AS Monaco also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in the 2016-2017 season and Mbappe played a vital role in the team, scoring six goals in their European campaign. He finished the 2016-2017 season with 26 goals in all competitions.
His impressive performances at AS Monaco impressed PSG and they initially signed him on-loan (with a deal in place to sign him permanently in 2018) in the summer of 2017. He was the part of FIFPro World XI: 2018 and scored 13 goals and assisted further seven during the 2017-2018 season.
He started brilliantly this season as well and bagged nine goals and assisted further three in the opening six games.