“Kylian Mbappe will be the all-round better player” – Rio Ferdinand picks Frenchman over Erling Haaland by the time their careers end
Rio Ferdinand has backed Kylian Mbappe to be the better player than Erling Haaland at the end of their careers. He believes that the Norwegian will be a destructive goalscorer, but the Frenchman will be the all-round player.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Ferdinand said that he sees both players hitting the heights in their careers. However, when asked to pick who will be better, he went with the PSG star over the Manchester City striker, saying:
"Haaland had crazy numbers last year. I think when their careers are over, I think Haaland will be the more devastating goalscorer, but I think Mbappe will be the all-round better player."
This was not the first time Ferdinand has picked Mbappe over Haaland. He was on BT Sports [not TNT Sports] last season and said the same. He backed the PSG star to be the better player and said:
"I'm taking Mbappe, everybody is. Haaland is a brilliant finisher but Mbappe can do things on his own, like he did in the WC final. PSG were terrible against Bayern and Mbappe came on in the second-half and completely changed the game. It was literally a different game. It's hard picking between these two guys because they're both so special."
Kylian Mbappe has the FIFA World Cup under his belt already, while Erlign Haaland is yet to play in the prestigious tournament.
Rio Ferdinand picks the next three players after Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland
Rio Ferdinand has backed Vinicius Jr, Bukayo Saka, and Marcus Rashford as the next best young players in the world after Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. He believes that the trio has everything it takes to set the stage on fire when needed.
He was quoted by the Daily Star as saying:
"He's on that next rung [below Mbappe and Haaland], isn't he? I think you've got him, Rashford, I think talking about it, Saka's coming up on the rails. But this kid, the difference between him and the ones I've just mentioned is that he's done it at this level - the Champions League in knockout football and won the Champions League, and been a big part of why they've won. A big part of today's football is pace - pace kills. It scares defenders to death and he's not only got the pace, he's got the ability to execute at the top end of the pitch. Brilliant footballer."
Both Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are linked with a move to Real Madrid soon as Los Blancos look to improve their attack.