Pele backs PSG forward Kylian Mbappe to be his 'heir'

Kylian Mbappe has already achieved a ridiculous amount in his short career, and he has now been afforded high praise from Brazil icon Pele, who has tipped the PSG forward to become his 'heir'.

Mbappe's recent exploits against Barcelona in the Champions League - where he hit a hat-trick at Camp Nou during PSG's 4-1 first leg victory - has reaffirmed his status as one of the world's best, and Pele has become the latest to pay homage to him.

And as admirers come, they don't come much bigger than Pele. The Brazilian is regarded as the greatest player of his generation, and considered by many as the finest players to ever grace the game - and he is backing Mbappe to follow in his footsteps.

"Mbappe can become my heir, and I'm not kidding," Pele told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I can see a lot of myself in his ability to play with speed. He's an attacker who thinks quickly.

"When the ball arrives, he already knows what to do, he already has in his mind where to go and how to guide the game to find the best solution. These are important characteristics in today's football."

The French striker has already gone some way to emulating Pele, becoming the first teenager since the Brazilian great to score in a World Cup final when he netted for France during their 4-2 win over Croatia in 2018.

Mbappe and Pele are among an elite group of just three teenagers to have won the World Cup, alongside Italian defender Giuseppe Bergomi back in 1982.

Speculation surrounding Mbappe's future has been rife in recent months, with the 22-year-old's PSG contract poised to expire in the summer of 2022.

He has been linked with a move to both Liverpool and Real Madrid, with 90min revealing in December that Los Blancos are confident of landing Mbappe in the summer, with a move for the forward two years in the making.