Arsene Wenger: Kylian Mbappe can emulate Ronaldo and Messi... but English youngsters aren't far behind

Future: Arsene Wenger believes Kylian Mbappe will take over at the top of world football.
Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
Matt Davies10 May 2020

Arsene Wenger believes Kylian Mbappe is the frontrunner to replace Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at the summit of world football - but insists England's talented youngsters are not far behind.

Mbappe, who signed for the Paris Saint-Germain for £165million in 2017, has already inspired France to the 2018 World Cup and has scored 90 goals in his 120 games for the French giants.

The electric forward, still only 21, is already considered one of the best in the world and has been heavily linked with a move to Ronaldo's former club Real Madrid.

And while Wenger states the footballing world has never previously seen the likes of Messi or Ronaldo, he has backed fellow countryman Mbappe to lead the pack of the following generation.

The former Arsenal manager also insists England are in the mix to prosper on an international scale, revealing he was hoping they would challenge at Euro 2020 - which have been pushed back until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We had never seen players like that, who can absolutely be creative in any tight situation,” Wenger told TalkSPORT.

“These players are now getting towards the end [of their careers] – Ronaldo, Messi – but it’s now about the next generation.

“The next generation is maybe French. At the moment, the leading player could be Mbappe, of course Neymar, that we know, but England as well.

"England has a good chance now; they are doing very well at youth level. They have done well with Gareth Southgate at the World Cup. I was hoping that at the European Championship they could be one of the contenders.”

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