For the last decade, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been battling for the top spot in World football. However, their time might be over a Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland take over the football scene. Both Mbappe and Haaland were in action last night for Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain respectively and they were both breathing fire on the pitch. The Norway superstar scored twice for City as they thrashed LaLiga side Sevilla 4-0 while Mbappe was the star of the show as his two goals were decisive to give PSG an edge over Serie A giants Juventus. 

Haaland's brace last night marked his 20th Champions League appearance with his 25th goal. He has become the youngest player to reach this feat at 22 years and 47 days old. The previous record holder? Mbappe at 22 years and 80 days old. It is worth noting that Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has also achieved such a feat before. It is clear to see that the two new stars of world football will be going toe to toe as they battle to become the best player in the world. 

Although their rivalry might not come as close as that we have witnessed between Messi and Ronaldo, they are the obvious names to take over from the two legends. At this stage, Mbappe is currently in the lead in terms of goals scored, as the Frenchman is currently on 217 whilst Haaland is on 145.  Many City fans feel that by signing Haaland, they will finally be able to get their hands on the elusive UEFA Champions League trophy. It is the same feeling that Parisian fans felt as they breathed a sigh of relief once they were able to renew their contract with Mbappe after a transfer move scare to Real Madrid was botched. Mbappe will be very instrumental in helping PSG to get a taste of the UCL glory, a team that has coincidentally never been the champion of Europe just like Manchester City despite their domestic league dominance. 

Although they are without doubt two of the biggest stars in football right now they still have a long way to go if they are to reach the heights that Messi and Ronaldo reached. The pair have a combined total of 1,588 goals. They have also won a staggering 12 Ballon d’Or awards between them with Messi having 7 of them and Ronaldo 5. They have been going hammers and tongs for the last decade or so, but they are still more than capable of playing at the highest level. Haaland or Mbappe, who will come out on top? Only time will tell.