There are two players, Player A and Player B.
Player A is on top of the world. At 19, he’s widely regarded as the best young player in the world, he’s fresh off being the star player of a victorious World Cup campaign, and he’s drawing comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Player B is three years older, but also regarded among the world’s best young players. However, he was left out of his team’s World Cup squad and has since seen questions raised about his attitude.
So just how much of a difference is there between Kylian Mbappe and Leroy Sane?
Timo Werner, Sane’s international teammate, said this week that Sane could be Germany’s Mbappe. On the face of it, the Frenchman has already surpassed his senior colleague, however. Sane’s impact on the pitch has been excellent, at times brilliant. Mbappe’s has been better.
The PSG star has scored more goals, 17 to 10, across the league and Champions League last season, despite playing over 500 fewer minutes. Per 90 minutes, his return is twice that of Sane’s, 0.60 to 0.29.
Of course, part of that can be put down to Mbappe playing in Ligue 1, where it’s slightly easier to score, especially if you play for PSG. He also had more of a goalscoring role for his team, especially after Neymar went down with injury, making his team’s secondary scoring option behind Edinson Cavani.
When it comes to his role, Sane could have at best been a third option, given Manchester City have two regular, high-quality strikers, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, who get plenty of minutes. But it’s telling that Sane was one rung further down, with Raheem Sterling outscoring the German while having a similar role.
Mbappe is also a slightly more prolific chance creator. He created 59 chances, at a rate of 2.07 per 90 minutes, across league and Champions League last season. Sane’s 69 chances came at a rate of 2.02 per 90 minutes. However, the Man City youngster had more assists, 17 to 11, and at a better rate, 0.50 to 0.39.
Leroy Sané across all club competitions in 2017/18:
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) September 10, 2018
• 49 games
• 14 goals
• 19 assists
• 2 trophies
• Young Player of the Year
Kylian Mbappé across all club competitions last season:
• 46 games
• 21 goals
• 16 assists
• 3 trophies
• Young Player of the Year https://t.co/PawamUWpDn
The two are just about on par as dribblers. Mbappe produces 3.45 successful dribbles per 90 to Sane’s 3.27, but the German has a slightly better success rate, 62% to 60%.
Domestically, both are coming off equally successful campaigns. Both were named the Young Player of the Year in their respective leagues during the 2017-18 season. Both also won their leagues, and at least one cup each.
But the World Cup is where the difference emerges. Mbappe scored four goals, including becoming the first teenager to score in a final since Pele in 1958, and ended up winning the trophy and being named the tournament’s best young player.
Sane didn’t get the chance to measure himself against his counterpart, a selection decision that Germany are perhaps now ruing after a humiliating group-stage exit. But it’s worth pointing out that he also wasn’t this far advanced four years ago. 19-year-old Sane scored a memorable goal against Real Madrid in his first Champions League game, but he wasn’t as highly regarded as Mbappe is now.
And Mbappe has backed up that acclaim to far greater effect. Can Sane begin to catch his rival up?
*Stats taken from Squawka.
