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Juventus legend tips the ‘rightful successor’ to Ronaldo & Messi

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Who will succeed Ronaldo and Messi as the best player in world football? David Trezeguet gives his verdict on one of the biggest debates.

Former Juventus and France star David Trezeguet has backed Kylian Mbappe as “the rightful successor” to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

A new era beckons as Messi and Ronaldo, who have won a combined 11 Ballon d’Or prizes, approach the twilight phase of their respective careers. They may forever be the best in history, but the day they’ll have to retire nears.

But who will succeed them as the best in the world?

We have plenty of young exciting talents already making their names on the big stage, but Trezeguet is convinced Mbappe is best placed to take over from Messi and Ronaldo.

“Mbappe is on the right track anyway,” the former Juventus striker told Le Parisien.

“He asserts himself as the rightful successor to Messi or Ronaldo. He is best placed to take their place.”

Mbappe, of course, is already a World Cup and four-time Ligue 1 winner at only 22 years of age. The Frenchman is a contender for the 2021 Ballon d’Or and has scored eight goals in as many Champions League games this season.

His brace against Bayern Munich on Wednesday sealed Paris Saint-Germain a 3-2 first leg win in their quarter-final tie.

“I admit he always amazes me,” Trezeguet added on Mbappe.

“Great games belong to great players. This is not a trivial sentence. Kylian has once again demonstrated this brilliantly. This is the mark of the greats.

“He is more motivated by these very high-level meetings. We had already seen this against Barcelona. He gives off an impression of ease. He is strong in his body and in his head.

“When he is expected, he responds. It is sometimes a little less obvious in Ligue 1, even if his statistics also speak for him.”

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