A new era begins in 2025: Kylian Mbappe may  eclipse Ronaldo and Messi

The year 2025 is likely to see the further rise of Kylian Mbappe who seems ready to take over the unofficial title of World’s Best footballer from the ageing Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Both Ronaldo and Messi have proved everything that they set out to prove. There are no new goals beckoning them ahead and both must have begun the countdown for retirement.

On February 5, 2025, Ronaldo will celebrate his 40th birthday and on June 24th, Messi will turn 38. The fact that they are still playing at the top level is itself a remarkable feat for both of them. But nowadays the question in every football lover’s mind is: how much longer can they continue? Logic seems to indicate that this is the right time to leave on a high note.

Mbappe on the other hand is in the prime of his football career. He is 26 years old and has already set benchmarks that will be hard to emulate. While playing in the FIFA World Cup of 2018, Mbappe became the youngest French player to score a World Cup goal.

In June last year, he signed a five-year contract with the Spanish giant Real Madrid. He made his debut for Los Blancos, as Real Madrid is known, in the 2024 UEFA Super Cup and scored a goal in his first match. In recent weeks, although the club’s performance has not been as good as fans wanted, Mbappe’s form has been commendable.

Past achievements

In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, after having scored four goals in total, Mbappe finished in the list of the second-highest goal scorers of the event and as a member of the victorious French team, he held aloft the coveted trophy. He was also named the Best Young Player of the Tournament. Three years later Mbappe helped France to victory in the UEFA Nations League and became the top scorer in the final.

At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, France reached the final again before losing to Argentina. Mbappe won the Golden Boot in the tournament scored a hat-trick in the final match and scored an amazing 8 goals in total. He is one of only two players to have scored in two consecutive World Cup finals (the other being Brazil’s Vava).

Kylian Mbappe’s father and mother were both athletes. As a child, he went to a private school where his football skills stood out more than his academic achievements. At that stage, his idols were Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry as well as Cristiano Ronaldo from whom he is now ready to snatch the crown.

What makes him lethal?
Mbappe is a versatile forward, can play as a winger on either flank but is also capable of playing in the center as a main striker. These qualities make him a big asset to any team and his coaches/managers cannot do without his services.

Another quality that makes him unstoppable is his pace and close-ball control when dribbling at high speed. His vision, tactical intelligence, and ability to beat the defenders by making attacking runs into open space both on and off the ball create endless problems for the opposition.

Arsene Wenger’s opinion

The legendary coach-cum-manager Arsene Wenger has compared him to Thierry Henry and several great names in history. Added to his intelligence on the field is his speed. While playing in a game for Paris Saint Germain against Real Sociedad Club, Mbappe was recorded to be running at 36 kmph. That would translate to a 100 metre-run in 10.9 seconds.

So 2025 could be the beginning of a new phase in international football. Likely, the era of Ronaldo and Messi will gradually fade away and be replaced by the reign of Mbappe. If he continues to work hard and if fate does not deal him a cruel blow through injury, then Mbappe could become one of the greatest footballers in history.