‘He’s a complete player’ – Paris Saint-Germain teammates Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe admire each other ahead of the World Cup final between Argentina and France

Lionel Messi and his successor Kylian Mbappe clash with Paris Saint-Germain teammates on Sunday to contest the World Cup.

There may have been a bit of a bad temper between the two, but make no mistake, both forwards are impressed with each other’s qualities on the pitch.

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Both players top the Ballon d’Or table in Qatar with five goals, although Argentina great Messi contributed with three assists – one more than Mbappe.

The duo have undoubtedly been two of the best players in the Middle East where they vindicated their labels as elite footballers.

Some fans are hoping the master can teach the student one last lesson, in what will be Messi’s final World Cup appearance, to get his hands on the trophy for the first time at the age of 35.

France star Mbappe has already won the World Cup after playing in Russia four years ago, where he became the fourth-youngest player in history to win the trophy aged 19.

And although Sunday’s showpiece is dubbed Messi v Mbappe, previous interviews with the pair show there will be no hard feelings towards each other on the pitch.

This may surprise fans with rumors regularly circulating about the PSG dressing room fallout due to inflated egos.

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Speaking last year, Mbappe called Messi the greatest footballer in the world after the Argentina legend won his seventh Ballon d’Or.

He told reporters after the 4-1 Champions League win over Club Brugge: “It’s easy to play with Lionel Messi. He’s the best player in the world.

“He won the Ballon d’Or a few days ago. He scored two goals today, he’s happy and I hope he helps us in the future.”

Although he insisted in September that he would rather play with France than PSG due to ‘more freedom’ under Didier Deschamps.

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Mbappe said: “I have a lot more freedom here. The coach knows there is a number nine like Olivier [Giroud] who occupies the defense.

“Me, I can walk around, go into space, ask for balls… in Paris, it’s not just that, it’s different, they ask me to do the pivot.”

However, despite those comments, Messi came out two days later and was lyrical about his teammate where he tipped him for a huge success.

He told TUDN Mexico: “Kylian is a different player, a beast who is very strong in one-on-ones, who goes into space, who is very fast, who scores a lot of goals.

“He’s a complete player and he’s proven that for years, and in the years to come he will definitely be among the best.”

As for his personal relationship with Mbappe, Messi said the two are great friends.

Messi revealed in 2021: “[It’s been] Super good. In addition Kylian speaks perfect Spanish and with a player like that it’s easy to understand each other.

“The good relationship off the pitch makes things easier and although it’s still too early to draw conclusions, I’m sure it will go well.

“It’s something that will come naturally and as we play together we’ll get to know each other better.”