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Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappé has said that he tells himself that he is better than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo when he steps on the soccer field.
Mbappé overshadowed Messi in February when he scored an impressive hat trick in PSG’s emphatic 4-1 win at Barcelona in the Champions League, which helped them advance to the quarter-finals.
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The French international has also equaled Ronaldo’s scoring record this season, both contributing 30 goals in all competitions, one more than Messi.
The 22-year-old said his way of thinking on the field allows him to believe that he is the best footballer in the world.
“The ego? Of course, it is important because when you are broke, nobody else is going to pressure you,” Mbappé told RMC Sport. “And you have to convince yourself that you are capable of knocking down mountains.
“People do not understand the ego, but when you are not well there is no one who comes to your house to tell you that you can do that. It is only you and your way of thinking. It is only you. You have to convince yourself that they are capable of doing big things.
“Every time I go out on a field I always tell myself that I am the best and yet I have played on fields where Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were.
“They are better players than me, they have done a billion more things than me. But, in my head, I always tell myself that I am the best because that way you don’t set limits and try to give your best.”
Mbappé has enjoyed an impressive campaign so far and became the youngest player to score 100 goals in Ligue 1 when PSG defeated Lyon before the international break.
The forward is destined to become the next global soccer star and has already won the World Cup and four French league titles.
“Of course, sometimes people do not understand because I think that perhaps there is also this barrier that is created in relation to this issue, where one does not really explain what the ego is,” he added.
“For people, the ego is simply not to give a friend a penalty, to have a better salary than the player of the rival team. It is not only that, it is also in the preparation.
“It is a personal thing, to surpass oneself, it goes beyond that superficial thing of saying ‘me, me’. But I think there is a lot to say about it. “