French World Champion Kylian Mbappe suggested that he cannot replicate Lionel Messi's achievements. Instead, he looks at Cristiano Ronaldo for inspiration.

In 2016, Mbappe kick started his professional football career with Monaco. Then, he successfully moved to Paris Saint-Germain. His career took an impressive turn since he won the FIFA World Cup with France in 2018. His recent successes on the field have allowed the 21-year-old to share the spotlight along with some of the great names of the sport.

Recently, Mbappe was asked whether he would like to look at Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to model his career path. In reply, he mentioned that since he is not a one-club man, it would be nearly impossible for him to equal the feats of Barca's six-time Ballon d'Or winner. Instead, he claimed to get inspiration from Ronaldo. The Frenchman also said that while growing up, Zinedine Zidane was his idol.

Mbappe said, "It's too late for me to carve out a career like Messi's, I would have had to stay at Monaco. Without taking anything away from Messi, now I have to draw on Cristiano's career for inspiration. If you're French, obviously you would have grown up with Zidane as your idol. After that, it was Cristiano, who I have been fortunate enough to have faced as an opponent, at club level, and with the national team."

He also mentioned his admiration for iconic Brazilian footballers, especially Pele, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, and Kaka.

Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe has the world at his feet. Reuters

When asked whether he would like to send a message to his young fans, Mbappe urged them to believe in their dreams and to always give their best efforts by pushing their limits.

Speaking of Ronaldo, Mbappe claimed that Ronaldo offers Juventus an edge in the UEFA Champions League, a tournament that the Portugal captain has won five times. CR7's presence in the squad, according to Mbappe, makes the Serie A giants a UCL favourite.

According to Goal, the PSG star also mentioned that Juventus lacked that edge before, when Ronaldo wasn't in Italy. Mbappe considers Juve to be one of the contenders for the Champions League title alongside usual names like Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Liverpool.

Mbappe will don the PSG jersey on 18th February when the defending Ligue 1 champions take on Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League Round-of-16.

Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo Champions League