Kylian mbappé

All you need to know about the Messi vs Mbappe rivalry, from their careers in club football to the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. The two PSG teammates will ...

With eight goal involvements in this year’s edition of the tournament already, Messi will no doubt have something to say in the final. For Messi, it could be his last chance at lifting the coveted World Cup. Angel Di Maria brought it level with a goal just before half-time, leaving it all to play for in the second half. The two PSG teammates will meet in the final of the tournament on Sunday (18 December). The Parisian side took a 4-1 lead into the next leg, with Moise Kean also netting in that game. His club teammate Kylian Mbappe, on the other hand, could become the first player since Pele to win two World Cups by the age of 23; it’s almost guaranteed at that point that, no matter where his career goes from here, he will certainly be regarded as one of the best to ever play the game.

CHRIS SUTTON: I will be at the Lusail Stadium to watch this showdown between the 35-year-old genius and 23-year-old future of football.

He is the man for France, as Messi is for Argentina. At 35, Messi saves himself for the big moments and the Argentina team compensate for that. The build-up to France's opening goal against England showed he knows when to pass and who to. But he is a phenomenal passer, too. Mbappe is second on 22. Messi is first on 27. If Messi and Mbappe - and me - were in a 100metre race, we all know who would win. We don't think of Messi as a speedster. I don't think there is a more satisfying sight in football than Mbappe driving forward at pace. These two equally know where the goal is and how to find it. But Mbappe knows where the goal is, too. [Antoine Griezmann](/sport/antoine-griezmann/index.html).

When Lionel Messi greets Kylian Mbappe ahead of the World Cup final on Sunday, it's fair to say that we won't see the same warmth the Frenchman sh.

Messi and Mbappe have both passed the ball to Neymar and Marco Verratti more than to each other this season, as the so-called ‘MNM’ front-line hasn’t proved to be the match made in heaven many were expecting. PSG began their season on fire with 10 goals in two games, and Messi already looked a different player to the 2021/22 vintage, but Mbappe needed to put him back in his place. Despite that rare gift, Mbappe has still provided a single league goal for Messi this season, compared to six the other way, while there’s arguably been revenge in the even finer details. Messi struggled massively in his first campaign in France, posting his lowest goal and assist numbers since 2007, while Neymar stepped aside to let Mbappe lead the charge domestically and in Europe. Mbappe and Messi represent the only two remaining active PSG players in Qatar out of the 11 that travelled, and will be tussling for their place at the very top of the sport on Sunday. The 23-year-old superstar has already made his mark by picking up a bigger salary in Paris than the two footballing giants, and has previously strained to make his position clear.

Though neither player's future is decided, the outcome of Sunday's final is poised to have wide-reaching implications.

But if Mbappe wins the World Cup with France, who play Olivier Giroud at centre-forward, a man he loves playing alongside, it may convince him to think about his future again. At the very least they are emphatic he has not decided his future. The Qataris would be surprised if a deal has been done behind their backs with Messi. At the same time PSG are well aware that this, finally, might be his last season with them and having secured him on a new deal, up until 2025, they are prepared to sell if he wants to go and they receive an appropriate offer. The situation with Messi is also clear for PSG. There is already an option for him to do so. That led to tension with Neymar and sources claimed Mbappe regretted signing his new contract. The futures of Messi and Mbappe are yet to be decided. Mbappe and Messi are not buddies, but neither is there any hostility. Similarly, should Messi be triumphant, it will hurt Mbappe, who is rightly regarded as the best player in the world at present and whose ambition burns brightly. Neymar, who is 30, is far closer to Messi than Mbappe is – as was evidenced in Whoever wins and whoever loses at Lusail Stadium, there could be ramifications for their club careers.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup final between France and Argentina will see the tournament's two biggest stars, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, go head to head.

He can score a lot of goals, he's a very complete player and he's been showing that for years. With time very much on his side, Mbappe could plausibly go on to break Pele's record of three World Cup titles in the years ahead. He's a beast.

Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe may be the joint-top goalscorers at the World Cup, but they certainly aren't covering themselves in glory in the runnin.

“At the World Cup, no player has walked more than the Argentine magician and yet he is the frontrunner for both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball. [Cristiano Ronaldo](https://talksport.com/who/cristiano-ronaldo/), though the Portugal skipper was used sparingly in the knockout stages, walked 13.35km of figure. He has walked a whopping 30.61km, meaning he has walked 57.64 per cent of the time on the pitch at the World Cup. [Lord Ping](https://www.lordping.co.uk/), Messi has walked the most out of any player from the 53.11km he has covered. [Paris Saint-Germain](https://talksport.com/sport/football/team/113127/paris-saint-germain/) teammates are not only in with a shot at winning the tournament, but also the Golden Ball and Golden Boot. [Messi](https://talksport.com/who/lionel-messi/) and [Mbappe](https://talksport.com/who/kylian-mbappe/) have spearheaded Argentina and France, respectively, to Sunday’s final in Qatar.