With Cristiano Ronaldo 33 on Monday and Lionel Messi the wrong side of 30, who are Europe’s bright prospects shaping up to be inheritors of the Ballon d’Or duopoly’s crown?
“A very good question,” mused Cristiano Ronaldo as he basked in the glory of his second successive Ballon d’Or and fifth overall back in December. “I see some with great potential: Asensio, Mbappé, Neymar, Dembélé, Hazard, Rashford … and some others. In the next generation there are at least 10 players with very, very great potential.”
It’s more than a decade since Milan’s Kaká became the last player outside of the Ronaldo-Lionel Messi duopoly to walk away with football’s highest individual honour. But with the Real Madrid forward celebrating his 33rd birthday on Monday and Barcelona’s talisman now the wrong side of 30 having also accumulated a record five Ballon d’Ors since he burst onto the scene as a teenager, the end of their era is almost upon us.
As Ronaldo hinted, however, discerning who will emerge as the dominant force over the next decade is easier said than done. Neymar, who became the most expensive player in history when he left Barça to join Paris Saint-Germain in August for €222m (£198m), is the obvious answer given that the Brazilian has finished third behind Ronaldo and Messi in two of the last three years, while Chelsea’s Eden Hazard and Paulo Dybala of Juventus certainly have the ability – especially if their long-mooted moves to La Liga finally become reality this summer.
Yet while Neymar turns 26 on the same day as Ronaldo and Hazard has just reached 27 - previously widely acknowledged as the prime age for any player – it is the emerging generation that looks most fascinating. From Spanish sensation Marco Asensio, France’s Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé and English prospects Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Ryan Sessegnon, the fight is on to become football’s next global superstar.
Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain)
Mbappé is expected to become the third-most expensive player in history when the 19-year‑old completes his move to PSG from Monaco, having spent this season on loan in the French capital after they saw off competition from Real. An initial fee of €145m with up to €35m due in bonuses, including up to €20m if he wins the Ballon d’Or, is an indication of his enormous talent. The son of an Algerian former handball star and a Cameroonian father scored 26 goals in all competitions in his first full season at senior club level. It has not been such plain sailing since, however, with Mbappé shown the first red card of his career in midweek during the French League Cup semi-final victory over Rennes and a few murmurs that his 13 goals so far are not quite the return expected for such an outlay. Yet with a trip to the Bernabéu to face Ronaldo and co in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 next week, he will relish the opportunity to show all the hype has been justified.
Marco Asensio (Real Madrid)
But for the intervention of a certain Rafael Nadal Asensio could have ended up playing for Barcelona rather than in the famous all-white strip of the reigning European champions. Back in the summer of 2015 the Real president, Florentino Pérez, called the 16-times tennis grand slam winner and asked for his help in signing a player who had suffered from chronic knee injuries in his youth but was by then starring for Nadal’s hometown team, Mallorca. “He behaved perfectly and we closed the deal quickly,” recalled Pérez in an interview last year. It has proved a shrewd acquisition. Having spent a season on loan with Espanyol, Asensio has settled quickly into Zinedine Zidane’s squad and scored eight goals in his first full season, mainly with his wand-like left foot. More superb performances for Spain at the European Under-21 Championship last summer confirmed his promise, although a lack of opportunities as Zidane’s side have struggled this season have cast doubt on his place at this summer’s World Cup finals.
Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona)
Five months after Dembélé moved to the Camp Nou for an initial £97m the Barcelona jury is still out on him. Much was expected of the player with mixed Malian and Mauritanian heritage who grew up in the Normandy town of Évreux and started his career with Rennes before moving to Borussia Dortmund. But he suffered a ruptured thigh muscle on his full debut in September and another injury – a hamstring tear during the victory over Real Sociedad last month, only his seventh appearance for Barça – meant a further wait to discover whether he is capable of filling the void left by Neymar’s move to PSG. Dembélé certainly has all the attributes to live up to his price tag: explosive pace, the ability to beat opponents with either foot and exceptional balance. The question is whether he has the temperament to succeed in such a high-pressure environment in what is only his third season as a professional, although the presence of Lionel Messi should certainly lighten the load for a few more years yet.
Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
When Dortmund reserved their vacant No 7 shirt for a 17-year‑old from south London after the departure of Dembélé last summer, most supporters of the German club presumed it was a grand gesture but one very much with an eye on the future. They have already been proved wrong. Voted player of the tournament as England were beaten by Spain in the final of the Under‑17 European Championship in May, Sancho was denied the chance to become a world champion in October when he was recalled by Dortmund after scoring three goals in the group stages of the Under‑17 World Cup in South Korea. He has since made five appearances in the Bundesliga and recorded a first assist in the 1-1 draw with Hertha Berlin last month. While Cristiano Ronaldo may have singled out Manchester United’s 20-year‑old Marcus Rashford as the English player to watch, it is Sancho’s generation – which includes Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon and Sancho’s former Manchester City team-mate Phil Foden – who could become the real contenders.
Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
While Neymar remains the undoubted leader of a rejuvenated Brazil side that qualified for the World Cup with ease, it was the exciting 20-year-old who finished as the Seleção’s highest scorer with seven goals in 10 matches. Jesus was quick to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League following his arrival from Palmeiras in 2016 for £27m and had found the net eight times this season before suffering a knee injury that is expected to keep him out for another month at least. The attempts to sign Alexis Sánchez and Riyad Mahrez last month were a measure of how highly he is rated by Pep Guardiola and he is also expected to play a big role for his country this summer. The World Cup may come too soon for Vinícius Júnior, however. The 17-year-old signed by Real Madrid last season for £38m and subsequently loaned back to Flamengo is not expected to move to Spain until the end of the year but is certainly a name to keep an eye on.