The next two kings in the football: Mbappe and Haland

From 2008 to 2020, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have combined 11 Ballon d’OR, 8 champions league titles, 10 golden boots, 5 UEFA best player in Europe awards and more and more uncountable awards, goals and honors. They are two “GOATs” in this sport. However, with CR7 at age of 36 and Lionel Messi at age of 33, their careers will likely to end in the next 5 years.

During these three seasons, two outstanding young stars: Mbappe at age of 22 and Haland at age of 20 are playing as “real” successors of the goat throne. They are the two most brilliant stars among many young talents. Especially after the first leg of the Champions League during this month. People are asking, will they succeed CR7 and Messi and dominate the next 10 years?

On 2/16/2021, during a decisive champions league first game and direct meeting between the representative of the next generation and the old “GOAT”, Mbappe scored a hat-trick to lead the Paris Saint German to gain a 4:1 lead in the Camp Nou. Although Messi scored a penalty at 27 minutes, Mbappe was simply unstoppable. He used his speed, dribbling skills and shooting accuracy to destroy the dream of Lionel to conquer the Champions League once again.

On the day after that game, Cristiano Ronaldo and his Juventus suffered a devastating defeat against Porto in the Estadio de Dragão. They lost 1:2 and CR7 could not find an opportunity to score a single goal.

On the same day, Haland standed out against Sevilla when his team was losing. He scored two goals and assisted Dahoud that led to a hard victory for Borussia Dortmund. He was

involved in all the three goals and led to a hard comeback almost on his own.

Two old “GOATs” lost during this month and two leaders of the young generation have led their team toward two hard victories. The succeeding time is getting closer and closer. This is also not the first time that we have heard about Mbappe. During the season of 2016/2017, 18 years old Mbappe has already scored 26 goals in 44 appearances.

Furthermore, helped AS Monaco to advance to the quarter-finals in the Champions League. Then, he went to the Paris Saint German. The next turning point is on the 2018 Russia world cup, he and the France football team have won their second world cup and Mbappe has been nominated as the best young player in this competition. For the next two seasons, he gradually substituted Neymar to become the No1 of his team.

Although Haland started his career in the TOP 5 leagues later than Mbappe, he has also shown off from the last season and this season. During last season, he scored 10 goals in his first ever champions league experience. Next, scored 13 goals and had 2 assists in his 15 games with Borussia Dortmund in the last Bundesliga season. This season, he continued his unbelievable performance and has already scored 27 goals.

Furthermore, compared with other young talents, they also look like the best successors for the “GOAT” throne. João Félix, Matthijs De Ligt and Jordan Sancho could not perform consistently during a long season. Other great young players, like: Alphonso Davies and Gianluigi Donnarumma, have been limited by their positions on the pitch. So, they are not good successors for CR7 and LM10. Moreover, many old players predicted that Haland and Mbappe will be the most outstanding talents for the next decade.

In conclusion, the time for the “GOAT” battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is approximating an ending and their successors are raising up. However, to be compared with these two “GOATs” and their endless awards in the future, Mbappe, Haland or other young talents still have a very long way to go.