"He's arriving" - Samuel Eto'o names 'unique' star as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or successor
Samuel Eto'o has backed Kylian Mbappe to dominate the Ballon d'Or awards in the coming years after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo hang up their boots.
Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the France Football award for the best footballer in the last decade. The Argentine won a record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or last week while the Portuguese has five to his name.
However, with both legends in their mid-thirties, their dominance is expected to wane in the coming years. Former Barcelona legend Samuel Eto'o has backed Kylian Mbappe to take over the mantle.
TT x KM 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/OzRhhx77Gy
The French footballer broke into world football back in 2017 while representing Monaco. Mbappe went on to win Ligue 1 and the FIFA World Cup over the next few years to establish himself as one of the best players on the planet.
The young forward finished a disappointing ninth in the 2021 Ballon d'Or rankings but Eto'o expects him to dominate the award in the coming years. The former Chelsea forward said:
"He is there and it has arrived at a good moment, in which Messi and Cristiano, the gods of football, are in the night of their careers due to age, and Mbappé is arriving."
Speaking to AS, he added:
"I hope he will be the biggest for the next ten or 15 years. He has everything to be this unique player that soccer needs after these two monsters."
Eto reserved special praise for seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi
HERE IS THE WINNER!
SEVEN BALLON D’OR FOR LIONEL MESSI!
#ballondor https://t.co/U2SywJmruC
Eto'o went on to praise Lionel Messi for his seventh Ballon d'Or win in France on Sunday (November 28) night. He backed Messi to win the award once more before retiring from the game.
"Leo deserves everything that is beautiful in this world, so I am happy for him, for what he has contributed, what he contributes and what he will contribute. Now that he has the seventh, I hope the eighth comes."
Eto'o also had a word of compassion for the top players vying for this year's Ballon d'Or. He said:
"[Karim] Benzema and Lewandowski obviously deserved it. Mbappé deserved it, [N'Golo] Kante deserved it, Jorginho deserved it. But football is like that. Many of us think that we could be considered the [winner of the] Ballon d'Or, but then there are people who are there to choose and we have to respect it."
Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho were considered favorites for this year's Ballon d'Or. However, they could only finish second and third in the vote behind Lionel Messi.