Manchester United legend Gary Neville has chosen Argentina superstar Lionel Messi over France great Kylian Mbappe.
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe performed admirably. The teammates from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have both scored five goals in six games, but the 35-year-old has more assists. Mbappe has claimed two of Messi’s three assists so far in Qatar.
On Sunday, December 18, Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, will face France, led by Kylian Mbappe, in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. Neville revealed the name of the player in Qatar who impressed him the most in advance of the huge matchup between the two heavyweight teams and their superstars.
The former England international cited Mbappe’s superior support system to Messi’s as the reason why he chose Messi as his favorite player.
On Sky Sports, Neville said:
“Mbappe is in a much better team than Messi, so I’m going to say, Messi.
I think Mbappe has extraordinary players around him, while Messi, you take a gander at the players around – don’t get me wrong…they’re of a decent norm.“
The defender-turned-pundit went on to say that Argentine players were going to great lengths to cover Messi’s defensive flaws and were expecting him to win games by magic.
“On Tuesday night, during the final five minutes of Argentina vs. Croatia, I actually took a picture. There were 10 Argentinian players set up camp on the edge of the crate and Messi was all alone! Neville went on to say that it essentially summed up Argentina.”
“The World Cup does, in his mind, feel like a mission, doesn’t it? In addition, the rest of his team is playing so well together around him that it almost seems as though they are saying, “We’re going to keep a clean sheet, be terrible to play against, we’re going to do everything right then he’ll go and win us the game, he’ll do something.”
Brazil legend Rivaldo backs Lionel Messi’s Argentina to beat Kylian Mbappe’s France in the World Cup final
Rivaldo, a legend in Brazil, is in favor of Argentina defeating Kylian Mbappe’s France in the World Cup final. Rivaldo was a former player for Brazil and has spoken out in favor of Argentina following Selecao’s exit from the tournament. The winner of the 2002 World Cup has made it clear that he will back Argentina to defeat Kylian Mbappe and co. and that Lionel Messi should win the World Cup.
On social media, the former Barcelona man wrote:
“Presently we don’t have Brazil or Neymar in the last, so I’m going with Argentina.
Leo Messi, there are no words for you. You have already earned the title of world champion, but God knows everything and will bestow it upon you on Sunday. You are deserving of this title due to the wonderful football you have always played and the person you are.“
Between 1997 and 2002, Rivaldo spent five seasons at Barcelona, making 235 appearances in all competitions and scoring 130 goals.