Kylian Mbappe And Erling Haaland 'Not In Same Conversation' As Cristiano Ronaldo And Lionel Messi

Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland should not be compared to Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi until they have consistently performed at a high level for "five years straight."

That's according to Owen Hargreaves, who insisted neither Mbappe nor Haaland "can't even be in the conversation with those two."

Both Ronaldo and Messi have etched their respective names in the history books and are often placed alongside Diego Maradona and Pele as the best players of all time.

Mbappe and Haaland, on the other hand, have become two of Europe's fastest-rising stars and have even been earmarked as the heirs to Ronaldo and Messi in the footballing world.

Ronaldo watched Juventus crash out of the Champions League at the hands of Porto on Tuesday, while Messi's Barcelona side were dumped out of the competition by Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

Both Mbappe and Haaland will continue playing in the Champions League this season as Borussia Dortmund and PSG have booked their places in the quarter-finals.

Hargreaves, 40, has insisted that there is "no denying" that the PSG superstar and Dortmund striker are "two of the best young players in the whole world."

However, the former Bayern Munich and Manchester United midfielder argued that Ronaldo and Messi have "done this for 15 years."

Speaking on BT Sport, Hargreaves explained: "There's no denying Mbappe and Haaland are two of the best young players in the whole world, but the fact of the matter is Ronaldo and Messi have longevity on their side.

"I know Mbappe and Haaland can't have that because they're only young and they're performing at a higher level, the numbers don't lie, but Ronaldo and Messi have done this for 15 years.

"Until these guys do this for five years straight, they can't even be in the conversation with those two, with the utmost respect.

"They are out-producing them, but Ronaldo's in a pretty poor Juventus team, Messi's in a pretty poor Barcelona team, which we haven't seen.

"In that sense, it's exciting we've got the young guys that are producing as they are, but the longevity we have to respect that these guys have produced for the years that they have."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Paris Saint-Germain, Football, Barcelona, Serie A, Ligue 1, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Borussia Dortmund, Germany, Juventus, Kylian Mbappe, Spain, France, Cristiano Ronaldo, La Liga, Italy, Bundesliga

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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