Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are among the greatest footballers of all time and they shared arguably the best football rivalry ever.
The two were on opposing sides of El Clasico over the course of nine years with Barcelona and Real Madrid, both vying for superiority not just within the rivalry but world football in that time.
Both have moved onto pastures new, with Ronaldo leaving in 2018 before joining Manchester United this summer and Messi stunning the football world by joining Paris Saint-Germain back in August.
Understandably, the two superstars have transcended the sport in recent years and the Spanish top flight are now eyeing the stars of the future with La Liga hungry to find the next generation of talent.
The league’s president Javier Tebas is now angling to rebuild the next great rivalry that will replace Messi against Ronaldo.
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Tebas has claimed that Barca’s teenage forward Ansu Fati is a better player than Paris Saint-Germain superstar striker Kylian Mbappe, who has been heavily linked with a transfer to Madrid.
The league’s chief has claimed that Fati – three years younger than Mbappe – is “equal to or better” than the Frenchman, who looks set to become a long-term rival and competitor of his in the Spanish top flight.
Tebas said this week: "We always like to give a lot of value to what we have outside of Spain.
"We have Ansu Fati, who unfortunately has had injuries, but over time he has shown that he is equal to or better than Mbappe."
As outlined by Spanish outlet Diario AS, the opinion of Tebas does not compare to the underlying data of each player – with Mbappe surpassing the Spaniard Fati on most measurements.
Fati has bagged 17 goals in 51 appearances for Barca in all competitions – a fine return rate for a player who debuted aged 16, yet which pales in comparison to Mbappe’s goal output.
The Frenchman’s goal return in the same timeframe is 77 goals in 97 games for PSG – a remarkable goal rate of a goal every 98 minutes compared to 138 minutes (still an excellent return) for the Spanish teenager.
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It is also highlighted how Mbappe has notably more assists than Fati too – winning on that front by 33 assists compared to three.
Mbappe, like Fati, started 27 of his first 51 club appearances – then at Monaco, Mbappe scored 24 goals at a rate of a strike every 108 minutes and assisted a further 10 times.
In his early days, Mbappe had a conversion rate on his chances of 71 percent, while his career total is now 48 percent – compared to just 29 percent currently for Fati.
