Kylian Mbappe leads Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as world’s best, says Rio Ferdinand – ‘The best there is now’

Kylian Mbappe has overtaken Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the world’s best player, according to former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand.

The 23-year-old scored three goals in 207 minutes of group stage football for France, a better tally than France’s last-16 opponents Poland, who only managed to find the net twice in totality.

Mbappe scored in the opening 4-1 battering of Australia before netting a crucial brace against Denmark as France ran out 2-1 winners to book their spot in the last 16, and Ferdinand believes Mbappe is the “best there is”.

“I can’t sit still, it makes me feel uneasy thinking about it,” Ferdinand said at the prospect of having to defend against Mbappe. “Right now you have to say, he is the best now.

“Messi and Ronaldo have been the best for all these years, but this guy [Mbappe] is the heir to the throne. He’s a phenomenal talent and he’s someone that excites you. We’ve been sitting here waiting, ‘who’s going to be the next?’ after the two I mentioned just now, and this guy is at the front of the queue.

“The way he can just glide past people, he attracts attention now because he’s a world, global superstar.”

Mbappe has scored 31 goals in 62 appearances for France and is currently seventh in the all-time French goalscoring charts level with Zinedine Zidane and just 21 behind Olivier Giroud, who landed the overall lead by scoring in the first-half against the Poles.

Mbappe and Brazilian icon Pele lead the table for most goals scored at a World Cup aged 23 or under, with seven goals each.

“[Defenders] identify him as the danger man, and they think ‘we have to get close’,” Ferdinand continued as he analysed Mbappe’s performances at the World Cup so far.

“And he’s not just a danger from out there [wide] as well, he has the freedom to ghost inside in central areas to score goals.

“The bit that gets you off your feet, [is when he] slows the defender down and thinks ‘look i’m going to stop but I can just turn on the nitro at any point and just blitz you’,” he added as he compared Mbappe to Thierry Henry and Brazilian striker Ronaldo.

“I just love watching him play and you want him to do well, you want him to produce the moments, and what I like about him is that when you’re this quick, if you just play at one pace the whole time it makes it easier and predictable for defenders, he can slow you down, and it’s the unpredictable element along with the pace and intelligence he has that makes him unplayable.”

Mbappe’s former PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino said the forward was a “lovely guy” to manage.

“He’s an amazing talent, he’s so bright, his mind is unbelievable and I think we teach him very well and why you see all the skill he is showing now,” the former Tottenham manager laughed.

“No, for me it’s not true,” he responded when asked if Mbappe had a problem with a ‘big ego’. “It’s normal, he’s only 23 and already won the World Cup.

“He’s an amazing player and an unbelievable talent, but the problem is sometimes you need to manage yourself because we are talking about the top-three, top-five best players in the world, and it’s not easy for him to manage himself.”

France are up against Poland in their last 16 knockout tie and will play either England or Senegal in the quarter-finals if they progress.