Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated world football for more than a decade.
The two superstars have won 11 Ballon d’Ors between them, with only Luka Modric’s triumph in 2018 disrupting their stranglehold on the award.
However, with both Messi and Ronaldo entering their thirties, it’s time to start looking at which young superstars could follow in their footsteps.
And immediately one name springs to mind - Kylian Mbappe.
The Frenchman is the second most expensive player of all-time, has already won four league titles - one for Monaco and three for Paris Saint-Germain. He’s also a World Cup winner - something that Ronaldo and Messi can’t say.
And while he hasn’t claimed the Ballon d’Or yet, it seems Mbappe is already emulating his idol, Ronaldo.
A viral tweet shows six different celebrations that the 21-year-old has ‘copied’ from Ronaldo with the caption saying: “How am I understanding these references just now??”
It certainly has blown the minds of many football fans who hadn’t put two and two together.
While it may not be intentional, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise considering Mbappe has previously spoken of his admiration for Ronaldo - and even had posters of the Portuguese all over his bedroom wall as a kid and went to Madrid to visit his hero.
"He is a hero from my childhood and it was amazing to meet him when I visited Valdebebas," Mbappe said years ago.
More recently, Mbappe admitted that it’s already too late to emulate Messi one-club career and will instead look to excel with a variety of clubs like Ronaldo.
"It's already late for me to have a career like Messi," Mbappe told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Otherwise I should have stayed at Monaco. So, logically and without wanting to take anything away from Messi, I have to be inspired by Ronaldo's career."
Meanwhile, Ronaldo is well aware that Mbappe is the future of football.
"Mbappe is the future and the present," Ronaldo said in a promotional video shared by Marca. "He's a fantastic player, very fast, and he will be the future."