Cristiano Ronaldo, the newly crowned UEFA Men’s Player of the Year, believes Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Marcus Rashford are among the players poised to dominate world football in the same way he has.
The Real Madrid forward, who added the UEFA gong to his collection of this year’s player awards – he’s also the reigning FIFA Men’s Player of the Year and Ballon D’Or holder – said “I see some with great potential: (Marco) Asensio, Mbappe, Neymar, (Ousmane) Dembele, (Eden) Hazard, Rashford…and some others.”
“In the next generation, there are at least 10 players with very, very great potential.”
Among the names he mentioned, Asensio is already at Real Madrid and Mbappe, Hazard, and Rashford have been linked with the Spanish club, while Dembele is nearing a move to Madrid’s fierce rivals Barcelona, so just like in Ronaldo’s generation, Spain could continue to be the hub of football’s best talents, even after Neymar’s departure from Barcelona to PSG for a world-record fee.
Ronaldo added that he doesn’t expect any surprises in the Champions League this year as Madrid look to win a third straight title.
“The teams are the same every year – Real, Barca, Bayern, Paris, Juve. I do not expect any surprise this year. Four of these teams will be in the semi-finals.”
