Cristiano Ronaldo confronted Kylian Mbappe. It was an extraordinarily entertaining “competition” that will undoubtedly be the highlight of Portugal’s forthcoming EURO 2024 quarter-final encounter against France.
France and Portugal will face in the quarterfinals of EURO 2024. The clash between the two “big guns” Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo will undoubtedly be the highlight of this top match. It’s similar to a power transfer meeting, where one person is “planning to retire” and the other is expected to become the future holder of the “Golden Ball” title.
Ronaldo has won the “Golden Ball” five times during his career. He is regarded as the greatest player in European football over the last decade. Throughout his career, the Portuguese star has consistently achieved the peak of success, winning EURO 2016 and five Champions League crowns.
According to the IFFHS (International Association of Football Historical Statistics), Ronaldo is the greatest striker in football history. He has scored 895 goals in both national and club colours. As a result, CR7 is ranked higher than Lionel Messi and Pele, the “King of Football”. It’s understandable that Mbappe looks up to Ronaldo and seeks to emulate him. To date, the captain of the “Gaulois Rooster” has “pocketed” more than 300 goals in his career, including the “Golden Shoe” at the 2022 World Cup finals.
Mbappe’s fascination with CR7 began at a young age. The French striker placed photographs of Ronaldo on his chamber walls. Young Mbappe was overjoyed when he was pictured with a modern-day football monument. It is not an exaggeration to say that Ronaldo has always been a constant source of inspiration for Mbappe on his path to stardom, a brilliant example for the French striker to look at himself and seek to improve.
Mbappe has never held the “Golden Ball” award in his career. But he was the World Champion. And with his intention to leave PSG to join Real Madrid next season, the French international is following in Ronaldo’s footsteps – CR7 left MU to join the Bernabeu during the summer transfer window in 2009. This 25-year-old attacker is determined to follow in the footsteps of the Portuguese international and become the best player in European football, earning the “Golden Ball” title.
Ronaldo and Mbappe are both underperforming at EURO 2024. CR7 still has not scored a goal in Germany. In instance, he missed a penalty kick in extra time, forcing Portugal into a penalty shootout with Slovenia, where Ronaldo was the first to take the Portuguese penalty kick and was successful, opening the contest. The Portuguese won 3-0 in penalties. And Mbappe smashed his nose in the first encounter of the “Gaulois Roosters” against the Austrian club. Since then, the 25-year-old striker’s performance has visibly diminished. Mbappe has only scored once from the penalty spot in the group stage, a 1-1 tie against Poland.
However, in the next EURO 2024 quarter-finals match between France and Portugal, Mbappe and Ronaldo are still seen as key elements in determining the final outcome. Whoever shines brightest among these two stars will have numerous opportunities to help their team advance to the semi-finals. According to statistics, the last time they met was in the group stage of Euro 2020. At the moment, CR7 had scored a “double” while Mbappe stayed mute. The match finished in a 2-2 draw, with Karim Benzema scoring both goals for France.
Will history repeat itself at the upcoming Hamburg? Will Ronaldo “shoot” again? Or will Mbappe speak up at the perfect time, officially dethroning CR7 and becoming the new emblem of European football?
