"It will be on his mind" - When William Gallas named the current footballer who can each the heights of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
William Gallas spoke highly of Kylian Mbappe in 2022 and claimed that the Frenchman could reach the heights of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He believed that the striker just needed to work hard and keep his focus.
Gallas claimed on Genting Casino that Mbappe could stay on top of the game for a long time. He said that the Paris Saint-Germain star could get close to Messi and Ronaldo's level:
"I think Kylian Mbappe can reach the heights of Messi and Ronaldo. Kylian will want to be the best, and it will be on his mind. Messi and Ronaldo set good examples for him so he will want to break all of their records.
"When you have that mentality, you have to work hard in the long term. With his ability, he can stay very long at a high level and he can certainly get close to the two legends, Messi and Ronaldo."
Lionel Messi defeated Kylian Mbappe despite the latter scoring a hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup final in 2022, just days after the William Gallas interview. The Frenchman is now set to join Cristiano Ronaldo's former side, Real Madrid, on a free transfer.
William Gallas on Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo
William Gallas was also asked in the same interview to pick his GOAT between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The former Chelsea and Arsenal defender said that Lionel Messi could seal his place as the GOAT by winning the FIFA World Cup in Qatar that year.
He told Genting Casino:
"Messi and Ronaldo are both the best, what they have done in the past is incredible. What Messi has done in this World Cup, though, has been magnificent at 35 years old.
"However, Messi needs to give credit to his teammates. They have worked hard for him when they have not had the ball. They have made more effort because they know Messi does not need many chances to score or assist. The players of Argentina know they have to make sacrifices for Messi. They have done it well, so credit must go to the players of Argentina.
"If Argentina does win the trophy on Sunday, Messi will, therefore, be the greatest player of all time, and Ronaldo will be just behind."
Lionel Messi went on to lift the FIFA World Cup with Argentina by defeating Kylian Mbappe's France in the final on penalties. Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal were knocked out by Morocco in the quarter-finals and he moved to Al Nassr days after the tournament ended in Qatar.