Cristiano Ronaldo says Neymar, Marcus Rashford and Eden Hazard can succeed him at the top of the game

Cristiano Ronaldo has named Marcus Rashford, Neymar and Eden Hazard among the players who he deems capable of succeeding him as the best footballer in the world.

The Portuguese picked up the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award during the Champions League draw on Thursday (24 August), another personal accolade following a season during which he picked up his fourth Ballon D'Or and the inaugural Best FIFA Men's Player award.

However, while Ronaldo remains in exceptional shape, he will be 33 in February and has already identified a list of potential successors to his throne.

"I see some with great potential: [Marco] Asensio, [Kylian] Mbappe, Neymar, [Ousmane] Dembele, [Eden] Hazard, [Marcus] Rashford [... ]and some others. In the next generation there are at least 10 players with very, very great potential," Ronaldo said when asked which players he was most expecting most from.

After bursting onto the scene two seasons ago under Louis Van Gaal, Rashford has become a key part of Jose Mourinho's team at Old Trafford, scoring 11 goals in 53 games in all competitions last season as United lifted the League Cup and the Europa League trophy.

Hazard was instrumental as Chelsea romped to their second title in three seasons, while Neymar became the most expensive footballer of all time when he swapped Barcelona for PSG in a £198m deal earlier this month.

Dembele will replace the Brazilian at the Nou Camp after moving to Barcelona for a club-record fee £97m after just one season at Borussia Dortmund, while Asensio is rapidly establishing himself as one of the hottest properties in European football alongside Ronaldo himself at Real Madrid.

The Spaniard returned to the Santiago Bernabeu last term following two seasons on loan and went on to score in the Champions League final as the Spanish giants swept Juventus aside 4-1, before netting two spectacular efforts earlier this month as they thumped Barcelona 5-1 on aggregate in the Spanish Super Cup final.

Real Madrid, alongside Manchester City, have also been linked with a move for Mbappe throughout the summer, but the 18-year-old could join Neymar in Paris for a fee in the excess of £100m.

All the players mentioned by Ronaldo will feature in the Champions League this season but the Portuguese believes Hazard and Rashford will not be involved at the business end of the competition, suggesting English sides lag behind their European counterparts.

"The teams are the same every year: Real Madrid, Barca, Bayern Munich, PSG, Juventus," he said.

"I do not expect any surprise this year. Four of these teams will be in the semi-finals."