France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni has claimed Kylian Mbappe is better than Lionel Messi ahead of the World Cup final on Sunday.
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Mbappe and Messi, who have been teammates at Paris Saint-Germain for more than a year, will be on opposing sides in Qatar as France face Argentina for the World Cup trophy.
Both players are also looking to win the Golden Boot as they have each scored five goals in the competition so far.
Many believe Messi has cemented his status as the best player in the world after his influential displays for Argentina at the World Cup, the most recent of which was a masterful display in the 3-0 victory over Croatia in the semi final this week.
But Tchouameni believes Paris Saint-Germain forward Mbappe should now be considered the world’s best ahead of Messi.
‘For me it’s Kylian,’ Tchouameni said after France’s 2-0 victory over Morocco in the semi final on Wednesday. ‘For me it’s Mbappe and I want him to prove that in the next game.’
Meanwhile, France forward Antoine Griezmann says his teammates have been keeping tabs on Argentina’s displays at the World Cup ahead of Sunday’s final.
‘Any team with Messi in is a totally different proposition,’ said Griezmann. ‘We have seen practically all of their matches at this World Cup.
‘We have seen Argentina play, we know how they play. They are a difficult team to play and they seem to be on top form.
‘Of course, not only Messi, they have a strong side around him so we know it is going to be a tough game and they will have a lot of support in the crowd.
‘We will get back to work tomorrow, focused on it, how we can hurt them, how we can defend against them. We will be well prepared.’
