The near two decades of football dominance that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo enjoy will come to an end in the next few years, and according to Arsene Wenger, he sees one player ready to take the place of the two icons. Touted to shine next would be Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe, whom Wenger said is destined to be the top dog.
For the former Arsenal boss, Messi and Ronaldo, both over their 30s, are approaching the tail-end of their careers, and there will be new superstars to emerge. When that happens, Wenger said the age of French footballers will be ushered in.
Obviously, for Wenger, Mbappe will be on the lead of the pack that includes the likes of Paul Pogba and Ousmane Dembele.
"It's now about the next generation and the next generation may be French. At the moment, the leader could be Mbappe," Metro reported the legendary French manager as saying.
Wenger added he imagines English footballers making their way to the top as well as impressive talents are emerging at the youth level. He also nominated Neymar as Mbappe's toughest rival.
As for Unai Emery, himself formerly in charge of Arsenal, he agreed that Mbappe would be a dominant force in football and more so when the rumors prove correct that he'll join up with Real Madrid. The Spaniard said he is convinced that the PSG ace will gain superstardom should he make the jump to La Liga.
"Of course he has the ability to mark an era in Madrid," Emery said.
However, he stopped short of saying that Mbappe, like Messi and Ronaldo, will collect multiple Ballon d'Or wins.
"I do not know if it will be Mbappe for the Ballon d'Or ... He certainly has the age, abilities, and talent to reach that level, but I do not dare to suggest it so categorically," said the Spanish coach, who worked with the 21-year-old at PSG.
Meanwhile, amid the persistent speculations that Mbappe will eventually leave the Parisians to play for the Los Blancos, his teammate Ander Herrera hosed down on the anticipation that the transfer is happening at all.
According to Herrera, Mbappe seemed quite happy with PSG, and the same applies to Neymar. Both players have been the subject of talks that they'd soon switch sides and bring their games to Spain.
"Mbappe and Neymar are still at PSG and even more so with the situation that we are currently in," Goal reported the former Manchester United player as saying.
Herrera added that the way he sees things so far, it would seem that Mbappe and Neymar are settled and happy in Paris.
