Brazil legend Pele has heaped praise on the qualities of Kylian Mbappe and believes the Frenchman can become the ‘new Pele’. The 20-year-old has experienced an astronomical rise over the past 30 months and last summer witnessed him secure the World Cup crown with Les Bleus while contributing four goals in the process.

As such, the forward was named the young player of the tournament and he has since received praise from all corners including Pele, who sees himself in the Frenchman, he told France Football: “He won the World Cup at nineteen, I was only seventeen. I teased him saying he had almost equalised. I think he can become the new Pele! Many people think I said that to laugh, but no, it’s not a joke.”

Meanwhile, when asked to make a comparison with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, Pele appeared to take a dig at the South American star by stating that he has only one skill, he added: “How can you make a comparison between a guy who heads the ball well, shoots with the left, shoots with the right and another who only shoots with one leg, only has one skill and doesn’t head the ball well?”

Mbappe has continued to excel with Paris Saint-Germain during the ongoing campaign and he has already contributed 18 goals and eight assists across all competitions. Amidst this, Paris Saint-Germain have been earmarked as one of the favourites to reach the semi-final phase of the Champions League, although the hierarchy are hoping to go further to secure a maiden Champions League crown.

Elsewhere, Les Parisiens are the front-runners to retain the French Ligue 1 title but they are unlikely to seal a domestic treble this time around after being ousted from the Coupa de la Ligue. The Capital outfit bowed out at the quarter-final stage after suffering a 2-1 home defeat to Guingamp.