Personally I never saw Pele as an 18 year old but I saw the entirety of Ronaldo's pregression from PSV to Barca to Inter and I don't think this kid gets close to El Phenomenon. He was tearing teams apart on is own, just give him the ball and there was literally no stopping him. No doubt Mbappe is good but I really don't think he's on that level just yet.
Kylian Mbappé joins PSG on one year loan with option to buy
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Personally I never saw Pele as an 18 year old but I saw the entirety of Ronaldo's pregression from PSV to Barca to Inter and I don't think this kid gets close to El Phenomenon. He was tearing teams apart on is own, just give him the ball and there was literally no stopping him. No doubt Mbappe is good but I really don't think he's on that level just yet.
He's on another level technically. I think Martial's a great talent and will be a great player but Mbappe is something else altogether.
He's a superstar in the making, I'm looking forward to his development as a footballer
He's incredible.
He just makes you doubt him less and less with each passing game.
He just makes you doubt him less and less with each passing game.
I'm sorry, but that's overrating him. Pele scored 80 goals in a season (granted, in a shit league) aged 18, and absolutely owned the World Cup, scoring a hat-trick in a semi-final and two goals in the final.
Luis Ronaldo was on course to his third 1 goal per game season in professional football aged 18.
Those two are by far the best youngsters in history of football. Mbappe has done amazingly well - especially counting his performances in the CL, but he isn't on their level (or even near it).
He can be compared to the best teens of the last few decades - Messi, Rooney, Fabregas etc. and you can make a case for Mbappe for being the best one.
Interesting - I actually think that Martial is a better technician out of the two. Mbappe's incredible runs, matureness and understanding of the game make him a better player though.
This. I watched Ronaldo when he was at PSV and Barca and some of the goals he scored where unbelievable. Especially the Barca 96/97 season his overall play was amazing, it would of been world class for a striker in there peak but for a youngster to be doing the things he did was unbelievable. Something like 34 goals in 37 apps. I remember the goal he scored for barca starting dribble from near enough the half way line it was magic. He used to also go round the keeper like he wasn't even there, i was obsessed with trying replicate it on ISS soccer on ps1 haha. I think some people on here forget how good he actually was. Mbappe is a great talent you can see he's going to have a great career, he reminds me more of young henry the one at arsenal in 1999/2000 although henry was 22 at the time.
His movement is on another planet to Martial
The way I wrote it made it confusing but I meant only two players in the history of the game managed this kind of output (goals and assists per game) whilst performing at a very high level since I'm sure there were other 18 year olds who put up the same kind of numbers in weak leagues. I didn't mean he was as good as them.
If we have to sell martial to get him we should do it. Martial will get better buy already mbappe has shown a much better understanding of the game and vastly better technical ability.
Im concerned about martial mental toughness and focus, he seems easily distracted as his Instagram war with his ex shows. Unbecoming for a top football professional.
Im concerned about martial mental toughness and focus, he seems easily distracted as his Instagram war with his ex shows. Unbecoming for a top football professional.
Thats it in a nutshell. He ripped teams apart, you could have one, two or even three men trying to mark his but his pace and power coupled with the sheer skill he possessed made him unstoppable. Countless times players tried to hack him down but he just kept going. Easily the player I was always most excited to see when growing up and nobody bar Messi and Ronaldo (CR7) have come close. You're also likely right with the comparison to Henry at Arsenal they are very similar bar Henry regularly drifting to the left as he tended to do so often so he could cut inside. Mbappe seems to prefer to stay right up the middle and occasionally drift wide running the channels.
The fees on players are just insane now. A rumoured £120m on an 18 year old? Absolutely insane.
This thread from 2007 is pretty funny when Ballon D'or holder Ronaldinho was rumoured to be going to AC Milan for £89 million:
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/milan-set-for-£89m-ron-bid.162783/
Some of the comments are really funny. Particularly the one saying "No one will ever go for that amount of money" - and here we are 10 years later with a teenager who's only really been on the scene for 6 months being talked about £100m plus.
In a few years £50m transfers will be a standard championship squad player buy.
This thread from 2007 is pretty funny when Ballon D'or holder Ronaldinho was rumoured to be going to AC Milan for £89 million:
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/milan-set-for-£89m-ron-bid.162783/
Some of the comments are really funny. Particularly the one saying "No one will ever go for that amount of money" - and here we are 10 years later with a teenager who's only really been on the scene for 6 months being talked about £100m plus.
In a few years £50m transfers will be a standard championship squad player buy.
If we was to mix Dembele and Mbappe we would have Martial. We just have to hope he gets over his 2nd season drought. We have an amazing talent, but in football your only as good as your last game.
Remember Real paid £38m for a 16-year-old with literally a few minutes of senior football.
Martial couldnt lace his bootsIf hes only interested in Madrid then fair play. If we have a sniff of him then we should go all in for him. he would turn an average team (us) into a really good one. him Pogba and whoever else we sign (I trust Mourinho) would make a formidable domestic team, and hopefully perform against the best european sides.
Doesnt Real play a diamond at the moment. i presume he will play upfront with Ronaldo?
It's nearly impossible to tell who will be the better footballer or have the better career out of martial or mbappe right now lads. There's still such a long way to go for them both BUT If mbappe goes to real and keeps this form up in a good real team he'll look like a steal in a few seasons though. I'd really love for us to sign him but it isn't happening unfortunately. France are producing some pretty amazing talent again the last few years. They will win a World Cup with this generation I think.
I would pay 200m for him. He'll be THAT good. I'm not even joking.
Yep, couldn't understand what the fuss was about reading about him everyday. But just watching him you just know. Its in the bones. I know its an ongoing joke but if Klopp could just send him videos and get Gerrard to text him.
Not saying he'll end up great for us, but I like how most on here have changed their opinions to Martial being some completely untalented player because he had a bad second season where there were obvious off the pitch issues. Meanwhile Mbappe is being hailed as 10x the player because he had one great season at Monaco. Personally I think Mbappe is better as well but the shite being spouted about Martial is ridiculous. Let's see what he can do next season, have people forgotten how he singlehandedly carried our team?
Yep, couldn't understand what the fuss was about reading about him everyday. But just watching him you just know. Its in the bones. I know its an ongoing joke but if Klopp could just send him videos and get Gerrard to text him.
He'd probably be even less interested in a move to Liverpool.
France are blessed with an abundance of young talent.
Martial is old news to many. I hope he'll prove many people here wrong next season.
Martial's a better dribbler for sure.
Why does every player want Madrid? Its just not fair
Martial and Mbappe isn't even close. For all the talk of Martial carrying us last season, we qualified for the Europa League and won an FA cup. As a comparison, Mbappe won the title and made the final stages of the CL.
At a younger age he's already looked far better for Monaco than Martial has and has looked far better in Europe.
Before anyone attacks me, I'm not saying Martial is shit, he's a very good talent but Mbappe and Dembele are both superior to him which is evident by the fact that he can't get a sniff in this France side.
At a younger age he's already looked far better for Monaco than Martial has and has looked far better in Europe.
Before anyone attacks me, I'm not saying Martial is shit, he's a very good talent but Mbappe and Dembele are both superior to him which is evident by the fact that he can't get a sniff in this France side.
Except that completely ignores the fact that Mbappe had a group of players around him performing at a high level while Martial was pretty much the only one doing anything that season in attack and had to do so under the most negative style of play possible. I still think Mbappe is a better player, and I like the way he carries himself a lot, but far superior is definitely a stretch IMO. He's only played one season ffs
Ah the good old system excuse. Using that logic, we could also use that to downplay Martial's feats with us. He only looked good in LVG's possession based system where the ball was always played into his feet, has been nothing short of woeful when he's had to change his game and actually run into space this season. That argument can go both ways, eh. Mbappe has looked better for Monaco than Martial did, despite being 3-4 years younger, has achieved more in Europe than Martial, even under yes, LVG when Martial was having the season of his life.
He's just a superior talent, it's that simple. Will he become a better player? Who knows, football is unpredictable, but in terms of ability, he's already a better footballer and you'd be hard done finding many people who weren't biased who'd prefer Martial.
Also this Mbappe one season discussion is tedious, Martial's only had one stand out season too.
Martial and Mbappe comparisons are tiresome.
Fred the Reds movement is better than Martial! It's the one big thing that Martial needs to sort out, he has a touch of the Valencia's about him in he is more reactive in his attacking than proactive. I hope this changes but I'm not sure he see's the pictures developing in front of him. He's a great talent but big doubt remains his movement off the ball for me. Having an attacking full back like Mendy may compensate for this by bombing on the outside when he gets the ball as Martial was easier to defend against this year as Darmian rarely over lapped in the final third this year.
Tiresome as neither have been playing in the same position as of late. Mbappe been a striker. Martial has been a winger. On the odd occasion he has been up front, he has scored.
But Mbappe as good as Pele & R9 at the same age?! Wow, I've read some over the top statements but this...
True and yet they aren't winning everything, all the time - working as a team makes the difference
Wrong. Martial was getting picked for France but it's his form that's meant he's lost his place. People have short memories when it comes to Martial. The Martial from the season prior was real quality. We're talking about night and day here. He's obviously has issues with his relationship and maybe he's felt shunted with being pushed wider and the shirt number thing but clearly next season is a big season for him. We want to see a confident player because opinions will soon change. The ones people mention are on the cusp of a wave but that can very quickly change. We're talking about young players and maybe there are more defensive demands placed on Martial then people appreciate. It's easier when your mind is clear and you are free to just attack.
Under LVG, there was perhaps more emphasis on Martial because of the lack of speed and the way we played under him. Now under Jose, it's different and even though it's just a shirt number - when a new manager comes in and swaps it with you then maybe you don't feel as confident or as trusted. I don't think defenders worked out Martial. I just think we have to free him somewhat and allow him to improve but he has to work hard on his finishing. He needs to be a good student like Rashford and stay back and make sure that he can become a top goalscorer.
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Always the same excuses for Martial. If Mbappe is a product of his system, then so was Martial under LVG. Martial has been asked to adapt this season and has struggled terribly. Fact of the matter is, Mbappe has done more for Monaco both domestically and in Europe than Martial has, despite being 3-4 years younger. You're talking about a player who led his team to a French title and the Semis of the CL, in comparison to Martial who 'carried' us to a Europa league finish and an FA cup. (An FA cup which was decided by Jesse fecking Lingard)
It's not even comparable. If Mbappe and Dembele maintain this form, you'd be hard done convincing anyone Martial deserves to be back in this French team, in form or not.
People aren't quick to forget anything, yes he was good last season and was nothing short of terrible this season. People are telling everyone to calm down as it's Mbappe's first breakthrough season, yet Martial also only has one break through season to his name, a season which was less impressive, at a more developed age.
Martial is a great talent but Mbappe is the superior talent, it's really that simple.
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A massive amount.
Mbappé's biggest strengths of all iare his understanding of spatials, positions that upset tactical schemes and a level of intelligence and cunning in his interplay with others that make him a constant distraction for defenders because they can't take their eyes of him for a moment. He's a genuine talent further enhanced by his physical attributes that are off the charts in their own right.
If Martial is not on a dribble or played in by somebody else, he's ineffective and further weakened by a lack of positional awareness or understanding - he doesn't place himself in the most difficult spots for defenders to pick up or even his own team mates to find him.
By now, Mbappé's looking like a player who can actually improve Real's first team and be a devestating outlet and counter-balance on the right. Him and Ronaldo in the same team is easily the premier counter-attacking duo in the game.
Seeing Mbappé link up with ease alongside Pogba and Dembele tells its own story - he doesn't need Monaco to thrive, just a bunch of like-minded players with talent, which Madrid have in spades.
Think you are taking you fanboism too far
We really should be spending whatever it takes to get him here. This is that moment where the next generational talent is going to make his fee look negligible over the next decade.
I honestly don't think he has any interest in coming here though, if there was the slightest hint we could get him, Woodward would be there doing a deal already.
I honestly don't think he has any interest in coming here though, if there was the slightest hint we could get him, Woodward would be there doing a deal already.
I thought he had a poor game against England, his first touch was pretty poor and his finishing was off. However, in a way it was encouraging because even though it was a poor game by his usual standards, he still made an impression. I think he just wants that first goal for France so bad that it's holding him back. Once he gets it, I think we will see a much better Mbappe for France.
Hard to disagree as much as I like Martial. Would love Mbappe at OT I would happily spunk our whole budget at him and Dembele even with other areas needing addressed more. Those two with Rashford Pogba Martial Mata and Mykytarin would make the season electric. Teams would really start to fear us again as we could shred teams with both individual skill and pace. We need a couple of players that can take men on and excite the crowd. Never going to happen but boy we can dream.
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