Mbappe doesn’t lack optimism

– Teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe said this week that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi remain football’s greatest players but that his own World Cup heroics could help crown him as the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner.

Mbappe, 19, helped France to World Cup glory in Russia as his four goals included one in the 4-2 victory over Croatia as he became just the second teenager after Pele in 1958 to score in the final.

He was also voted Young Player of the Tournament and has since become Ligue 1’s leading scorer with 11 goals. –

Paris