France striker Kylian Mbappe placed himself behind the legendary duo of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are widely regarded as two of the best ever in the game’s history.
Messi and Ronaldo are making their sixth – and likely final – FIFA World Cup appearance at the ongoing 2026 edition in the United States, Mexico and Canada, while Mbappe is making his third.
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With over 900 goals for club and county during their illustrious careers, Ronaldo (973) and Messi (914) – in that order – are the two most prolific scorers in the game’s history, having won big titles and individual honours galore.
Ahead of Les Bleus’ clash against Iraq on Monday (June 22) in Philadelphia in their second Group I game, Mbappe responded when asked who’s the best between Messi, Ronaldo and himsef.
“Who’s the best between me, CR7 and Messi? Messi is the best, together with CR7. I’m behind them,” he said (as per Madrid Xtra).
Messi (16) is the competition’s joint-highest goalscorer and is this edition’s joint leader in the Golden Boot race, ahead of Mbappe – who scored twice in the 3-1 campaign-opening win over Senegal last week in East Rutherford.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo is yet to open his account after drawing blanks in Portugal’s 1-1 draw with DR Congo.
What’s next for Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo?

Kylian Mbappe‘s France, Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal are among the contenders at the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
While Mbappe’s France and Messi’s Argentina opened their respective campaigns with wins, Ronaldo’s team failed to get past DR Congo as they look to become the ninth different team to win the quadrennial competition.
Kylian Mbappe and Co. are next in action against Iraq on Monday (June 25) in Philadelphia – as mentioned earlier – while Messi’s team continue their title defence against Austria on Monday (June 22) in Dallas.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s Portugal take on competition debutants Uzbekistan in their second group match on Tuesday (June 23) in Houston.
Edited by Bhargav
