Coming off the heels of praising Mauro Icardi as being unstoppable, Juventus FC’s Giorgio Chiellini is once again complimenting a Paris Saint-Germain forward.
In his new autobiography (via Daily Mail), Chiellini writes about his impression of Kylian Mbappé who scored 30 goals in 33 appearances for PSG this season before the coronavirus crisis forced the cancelation of Ligue 1 and the suspension of the UEFA Champions League.
According to Chiellini, Mbappé’s tremendous potential makes him the logical successor to win the coveted Ballon d’Or and a better player than Neymar Jr.
“Who’s destined to be the next world star and collector of the Ballon d’Or when Cristiano [Ronaldo] and [Lionel] Messi stop playing? It’s the Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, a truly unique player!”
“The first time I saw him on TV was in the 2016-17 Champions League, during Manchester City-Monaco. Impressive.”
“At the end of the first half, I asked Fabio Paratici: ‘Who is he? Which planet is he from?'”
“Fabio replied: ‘Yes, I know. We’ve known him for some time’…An unstoppable striker, he was just 18 years old.”
“We would face him in Europe that season, in the semi-finals. Now he’s 21 and already a world champion. Pace, technique, instinct…he’s not lacking in anything.”
“He’s a player who makes an impression, a priceless masterpiece. I also think Mbappé’s better than Neymar, more consistent. The future is all his.”
At 35-years-old, Chiellini has gone up against all of the best forwards in recent history so his words carry a lot of weight. The only part I take issue with is the part about comparing Mbappé to Neymar.
They’re two completely different players. Neymar is more of a creative playmaker whereas Mbappé relies primarily on his superior physical attributes to dominate his opponents. If Neymar wasn’t injured the last two seasons, I’m not sure Chiellini makes the “consistency” argument.
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