France had a good start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as they beat Senegal 3-1, thanks to a brace from Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe is one of, if not outright the best footballer in the entire world, and he turns into a different animal whenever he dons the France kit. As one would recall, Mbappe won the Golden Boot award in the 2022 edition of the competition, scoring eight total goals — including three in their loss to Lionel Messi's Argentina in the Final.

For Mbappe, as much confidence as he has in his abilities, the answer to the question of who the best football player in the world is is clear in his mind.

“Lionel Messi. It's clear. He's the best in the world with Cristiano [Ronaldo],” Mbappe said in his press conference the day before France's second game of the group stage, which will be against Iran.

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Mbappe has seen Messi's greatness firsthand, having spent two seasons with him on the club level at Paris Saint-Germain. PSG won the Ligue 1 title in both of Messi's seasons with the club, and in his final year in Paris, the Argentinian superstar led the league in assists with 16.

Messi, of course, was part of the Argentina squad that bested Mbappe's France back in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final, which ended in penalties. The French forward also shouted out Cristiano Ronaldo, the man who has combined with Messi to define football for over two decades.

The 27-year-old star forward for Real Madrid is setting his sights on a second World Cup trophy, having won it all with France back in 2018. Having gone through two consecutive disappointing seasons in the Bernabéu, Mbappe would want to wash away the stench of missing out on the La Liga and UCL titles in his two seasons thus far in Madrid by aiming to lead France to the promised land once more.