Updated April 30th, 2020 at 15:44 IST

Cristiano Ronaldo names six possible successors to himself and Lionel Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo named six possible players from the current crop of footballers to succeed himself and Lionel Messi as future global stars.

Reported by: Daniel Arambur
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The Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate is seemingly a never-ending conversation. Ronaldo and Messi share an incredible 11 Ballon d'Or trophies between themselves with Lionel Messi picking up his sixth award last year. Cristiano Ronaldo has been in terrific form since the start of 2020 but to his misfortune, the Serie A season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, fans have struggled to see a successor to their throne, with only Neymar coming close in recent years.

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Cristiano Ronaldo names six possible players to succeed him and rival Lionel Messi

In a recent interview with Daily Mail, Cristiano Ronaldo was asked which players he could see succeeding himself and Messi after they both hang up their boots. Cristiano Ronaldo replied saying "A very good question. I see some with great potential: Asensio, Mbappe, Neymar, Dembele, Hazard, Rashford, and some others. In the next generation, there are at least 10 players with very, very great potential." Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio both had a forgettable 2019-20 season with Real Madrid. Hazard scored just one goal in his debut season which was marred with injuries, while Asensio suffered an ACL injury during pre-season which ruled him out for a year.

PSG stars Kylian Mbappe and Neymar have been impressive in Ligue 1. Before the league was suspended, Neymar and Mbappe combined to knock Borussia Dortmund out of the UEFA Champions League with a comeback win in Paris. Meanwhile, Ousmane Dembele had another season hampered by injuries with recent rumours linking him with a move away from Barcelona in the coming transfer window. The last player on the list, Marcus Rashford was clinical for Manchester United this season scoring 19 goals in 31 appearances across all competitions before suffering a back injury.

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Published April 30th, 2020 at 15:44 IST