There has been a passing of the baton at Russia 2018. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo remain the greatest footballers in the world, but if this World Cup has shown us anything, it is that a new wave of superstars have broken through to claim their place at the summit of the global game.
Messi and Ronaldo both exited this tournament at the round of 16. They both had their moments of brilliance in which they stamped their mark on the World Cup — Ronaldo’s hat trick against Spain and Messi’s stunning goal against Nigeria — but when the story of Russia 2018 is complete, they will be nothing more than bit-part actors in a classic thriller.
The real stars of the tournament are likely to be the new kids on the block: the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and maybe even Aleksandr Golovin.
Neymar will also be in the mix, but the Brazilian forward has yet to show us that he really is the next big thing, despite scoring two important goals for his country so far. In fact, Brazil’s star so far has been Philippe Coutinho, who was signed by Barcelona to replace Neymar following his world record move to Paris Saint-Germain last summer.