Tiemoue Bakayoko believes his former Monaco team-mate Kylian Mbappe is the best player in the world after his heroic performance in the 2018 World Cup.
Bakayoko and Mbappe were team-mates at Monaco.
Mbappe scored fours goal in the world cup and he also won the young player of the tournament award. He scored two goals against Argentina and also scored a goal against Croatia in the final.
Still only a teenager, Mbappe became the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Brazilian legend Pele. And his former Monaco team-mate and fellow Frenchman Bakayoko feels Mbappe is better than both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I’m not surprised [at his success], he’s very young but he’s very mature. He’s a very intelligent player and I think with his characteristics he’s the best player in the world. Don’t forget he’s very young and it’s not easy to play against the older players and to be so quick on the pitch.”
Bakayoko’s praise comes shortly after French defender Raphael Varane described Mbappe as an “alien”. Bakayoko was forced to watch on from home. Despite missing out on selection, he was left impressed by his nation’s performance.
“I think we played very well throughout and I’m very happy for Olivier Giroud and N’Golo Kante.”
Chelsea and Bakayoko are preparing for their first pre-season match in Australia against Perth Glory with new head coach Maurizio Sarri. The former Napoli boss replaced Antonio Conte and has vowed to play attacking football. Something Bakayoko backed up after his first few training sessions under the Italian.
“He’s a very good coach. Sarri wants to play football, he never wants to play long balls. He just wants to attack the goal, score a lot of goals and play an offensive game.”