"He's winning that race" - When Barcelona icon claimed Sterling was ahead of Mbappe and Salah in race to succeed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Barcelona great Xavi once claimed that Raheem Sterling was the heir to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The former Manchester City and Liverpool forward was adjudged to be ahead of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar Jr., and Mohamed Salah in the race to be the best player in the world.
Many players have been dubbed the next Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but have failed to live up to the hype. In hindsight, Xavi's comments about Sterling do seem outrageous. However, at the time the England international was one of the most feared wingers in world football.
In 2019, Xavi explained to the Mirror why Sterling was his pick to take over from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Messi is the best ever for me, and even though they're both still playing at a very high level, there will come the day not so long away when somebody else must step into those shoes," Xavi said.
"You look at young players who can be crowned the future best in the world and you still think of Neymar, [Kylian] Mbappe, [Mohamed] Salah and of course Sterling. I look at the moment and Sterling is winning that race," he continued.
Xavi went on to add that playing under his former boss, Pep Guardiola, would do wonders for the diminutive winger.
"He's always been a good player, a dangerous player, but under Pep he [has] become one of the best in the world," he said.
"I know how Pep works - he would have worked closely with him since his arrival - where he needs to improve and what he needed to work on," he added. "We're now seeing the results of that. He's still young and can be the world's best."
At the time of Xavi's comments, Raheem Sterling was 24 years old and starring for both Manchester City and England. He had also won Europe's Golden Boy award in 2014 and was touted to be one of the best in the business.
A look at Raheem Sterling, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi's journey since Xavi's comments
When the Barcelona midfielder made the claim, Raheem Sterling was playing for Manchester City under Xavi's former boss Pep Guardiola. Lionel Messi was still at Barcelona while Cristiano Ronaldo had moved to Juventus.
Since his comments, the three players' careers have taken vastly different routes. Sterling has been unable to fulfill Xavi's prophecy. Although he has won the league thrice since then, he clearly hasn't become the best in the business.
Sterling moved to Chelsea in 2022 after finding himself behind Jack Grealish in the pecking order. His two seasons at Stamford Bridge did not go to plan and he was sent to Arsenal this summer on loan after being deemed surplus to requirements under Enzo Maresca.
Cristiano Ronaldo had just won the league at Juventus and was on course for another in the 2019/20 season. In 2021, he moved back to Manchester United for a season-and-a-half before leaving Europe for the Middle East. The 39-year-old currently captains Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr.
While international glory evaded him, the Portuguese has continued his goalscoring exploits. He recently became the first player in the history of the sport to score 900 official goals.
Lionel Messi's journey has been equally intriguing. He left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, a move that not many would have predicted. After two seasons with the Ligue 1 giants where he won the league twice, he moved to Major League Soccer (MLS) with Inter Miami.
Messi went on to win three more Ballon d'Or trophies to take his tally to eight. With Argentina, he won the elusive World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and the Copa America on either side of the quadrennial tournament.