Rio Ferdinand has suggested Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain youngsters Lamine Yamal and Desire Doue are the successors to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Yamal, 17 and Doue, 19 have been two of the standout players across Europe this season and both shone brightly throughout the Champions League campaign.
The Barcelona youngster, who recently signed a new contract to keep him at the club until 2031, was a key figure in Hansi Flick’s side winning a LaLiga and Copa del Rey double in addition to reaching the semi-final of European football’s elite club competition.
Meanwhile, Doue went one better by netting a brace and providing an assist as PSG thumped Inter Milan in the Champions League final to complete a treble.
Having been in attendance for the aforementioned final in Munich before bowing out from TNT Sports, Ferdinand asked if this season has marked a changing of the guard.
He said: "A really special mention for Doue, a 19-year-old kid playing on the biggest stage like it's a playground at the back of his house.
"Have we seen now, we've had two players who dominated world football for many, many years of our generation in Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Lamine Yamal going into this was a superstar but didn't get to the final. Lit up the quarter-final and the semis.
"Doue's done it now in the final, have we seen a changing of the guard of the two players likely to be them players?
It's Desire Doue's world and we're just living in it 🌟
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 31, 2025
The 19-year-old makes it two goals and an assist in the Champions League final 🔥
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/t5J0AQaMWf
This question prompted a response from Steven Gerrard who said it's "very dangerous" to make comparisons at such an early stage in the respective players' careers.
Though Gerrard did acknowledge that for Yamal and Doue to be spoken in the same breath as Messi and Ronaldo so young shows they have the potential to follow in the footsteps.
To which Ferdinand continued: "My point is we've been sitting here saying the next two people are going to be Haaland and Mbappe (and Vinicius maybe) and one or two others.
"These two have come out of nowhere and stolen the show, you would have never have said that a year ago."
