Who is going to be the best player in the world in five years’ time?

A 36-year-old Lionel Messi, still making magic for Barcelona?

Or Kylian Mbappe, who will be 25 and approaching his prime years?

It’s an interesting question to wonder. In 2024, football will be about to embrace a post-Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo era, with different players competing for the Ballon d’Or award.

Football is always searching for the stars of tomorrow and that was the case in 2014, when football fans on Reddit debated who the best players in the world will be in 2019.

A post by user ChickenBiscuitSwag read: ‘Who do you think will be the best players in 5 years?’

It attracted 797 comments, with fans sharing several different names.

Football fans predict the world's best player

Luka Modric claimed the 2018 Ballon d’Or award but it’s hard to argue against Messi being the best player in the world right now.

And Reddit user cdr268 predicted that, writing: “Hazard has potential to be up there. Obviously Neymar, Gotze etc. But in 5 years Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will still be at the top imo.”

Yet one fan got it so horribly wrong.

User josh_is_alive doubted Messi and Ronaldo could maintain their exceptional form into their thirties, writing: “A 31-year-old Messi and a 33-year-old Ronaldo being the best players in the world??

“I don't think there's any way possible they are both able to maintain their current level of play for that long.”

User Breklinho went so far as to say the best number nine in the world in 2019 would be either Mario Balotelli or Romelu Lukaku.

“‘Number 9’: Lukaku/Balotelli,” he wrote, while also predicting that Jack Wilshere would be among the best centre-midfielders.

Some of the other names mentioned include...

  • Ross Barkley
  • Adnan Januzaj
  • Jack Rodwell
  • Julian Draxler
  • Oscar
  • Lewis Holtby
  • Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
  • Jese Rodriguez
  • Viktor Fischer
  • Neymar
  • Stephan El Shaarawy
  • David de Gea
  • Paul Pogba
  • Raphael Varane
  • Mesut Ozil

There were many shouts for Mario Gotze, who unfortunately hasn’t reached the heights expected of him after he scored the winner for Germany in the 2014 World Cup.

Click HERE to read the entire Reddit thread.