Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are arguably the two best footballers of all time, but there is a very good chance that Paris Saint-Germain and France international forward Kylian Mbappe could surpass both of them, at least at international level.

Messi has never won the World Cup, and neither has Ronaldo, but Mbappe has already won it once and could do it again this year.

And in 2026 and 2030.

At least theoretically.

France have reached the quarter-finals of the 2022 Qatar World Cup and could successfully defend the title they won in Russia four years ago.

Didier Deschamps side can be backed at 4/1 on  to go all  way in Qatar.

While Ronaldo is 37, Messi is 35.

This is going to be the duo’s final World Cup.

Mbappe a…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 8/11 @

Two Scottish giants who should find the mood in their camp at a real high, Celtic will make the trip to Tynecastle Park when they meet Hearts on Wednesday night.

Starting with the hosts, picking up some perfect momentum over the weekend as they cruised their way to a 5-0 romp against lower-league Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup, Hearts have continued to impress since making their Premiership return. Opening up the 2021/22 campaign with a stunning 2-1 win at home against Celtic, the Jambos are currently leading the chase to book a shock European finish. Last seen on top-flight duties picking up a deserved 2-1 win against St. Johnstone on January 18th, Robbie Neilson s men have won each of their last four matchups acr…

European champions Bayern Munich and left-back David Alaba have agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension at the Allianz Arena, according to the club s official website, .

The deal will keep Alaba, who joined Bayern from Austrian giants FK Austria Wien in 2008, at the club until 30 June 2018.

The Austria international, 21, has established himself as one of the premier young players in Europe over the past two-plus seasons.

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as well as the club s executive board director Jan-Christian Dreesen and perhaps most importantly Alaba himself are absolutely delighted a deal has been signed.

David has developed magnificently as a player since he came to FC Bayern as a 16-year-old.

Nowadays he ra…

Lionel Scaloni dismissed the assertion his Argentina team were rightly criticised for their antics against the Netherlands.

Argentina face Croatia in the first World Cup semi-final on Tuesday, after overcoming the Netherlands on penalties.

The Copa America champions led 2-0 at Lusail Stadium yet were pegged back to a 2-2 draw by Wout Weghorst s double.

But Emiliano Martinez s saves paved the way for Lautaro Martinez to score the winning penalty in the shoot-out and send Argentina through to the last four.

The match was not without its controversy. Some of Argentina s players celebrated wildly in front of the Netherlands squad, while there were tussles on the touchline and Lionel Messi seemed to confront Oranje coach Louis van Gaal.

Scaloni, howeve…

FIFA president Sepp Blatter insists that there is nothing he can do to stop soaring transfer fees.

His comments come in the wake of Gareth Bale s move to Real Madrid for a reported world record fee in the region of £85million.

The previous record was the £80m Real spent on Cristiano Ronaldo to lure him from Manchester United in 2009.

Speaking about Bale s big-money move, and others like it, Blatter said: If a player is the value of that, I doubt it, but I cannot stop it.

If the price of a player is high or not high, I think it s the market that decides and we cannot intervene in the market.

Even when you say a country is poor or in debt, you always find money in football.

Blatter went on to recall the Brazilian Ronaldo s move from Inter Milan to Re…

Barcelona ended the season with a 2-1 victory at Sevilla in LaLiga on Sunday, making departing coach Xavi s farewell bittersweet after a trophy-less season.

La Blaugrana came out all guns blazing from the start and took the lead in the 15th minute through Robert Lewandowski who scored from close range after latching onto Joao Cancelo s cross.

Sevilla levelled with Youssef En-Nesyri s strike in the 31st minute and went close again but failed to beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen before Barca got the winner on the hour through Fermin Lopez.

Barca were already guaranteed second place going into Xavi s final game. The Spaniard was sacked on Friday, after a disappointing campaign in which they lost the Spanish Supercopa final to Real Madrid and were knocked out of the Champio…

Quique Sanchez Flores believes he has found  an ideal place to build after committing to Espanyol for the next three years.

The former Watford boss was presented to the media on Monday and outlined his plans for the Liga outfit.

In recent years what moves me is the heart and I where I think I can be happy and do the job, the 51-year-old said.

What I want is to do my job well and get the fans [on side]. This is our work.

Espanyol is an ideal place to build. I want the club to regain its most competitive and historic identity.  

Flores was not kept on at Watford despite guiding them to a 13th-placed Premier League finish in his only season at the helm after they had been promoted from the Championship.

He has also managed the likes o…

According to Fabrizio Romano, Crystal Palace are on the verge of agreeing a free transfer of Daichi Kamada when his contract with Lazio expires at the end of June.

The 27-year-old Japan international joined Lazio also as a free agent from Eintracht Frankfurt on a one-year contract last summer. Since then, he s made a total of 38 appearances for the Serie A side in all competitions, scoring two goals and contributing as many assists from his position in the middle of the park. There have been negotiations over a potential new deal with the Biancocelesti, but they reached an impasse apparently over a release clause demanded by the player.

It seems Palace manager Oliver Glasner, who worked with Kamada at Eintracht, was aware of this development and called his former charge…

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou is full of admiration for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, but fails to see many similarities between the pair.

Postecoglou’s youthful Spurs side face the biggest test of his early reign on Sunday when they make the short trip to the Emirates for the first north London derby of the season.

Second-placed Tottenham travel across the capital in high spirits but face an Arsenal team that are into a fifth season under Arteta, who also took over a club in the doldrums and has overseen a cultural change from top to bottom.

“It’s a great challenge for us as a football team that’s beginning on a journey and trying to have an identity in the way that we play.”

Ange previews Sunday’s North London Derby

— Totten…

Ryan Giggs revealed he spoke to his former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson before taking over as the new head coach of the Wales national team.

The ex-United winger, who spent 23 years under Ferguson s tutelage at Old Trafford, was confirmed as the new Wales boss on Monday.

Giggs appointment comes following Chris Coleman s resignation in November, while the 44-year-old was previously linked with managerial vacancies at the likes of Swansea City.

After Ferguson s United successor David Moyes failed to see out his first season, Giggs took interim charge of United for the final four games of 2013-14 and then worked as assistant to Louis van Gaal.

He departed upon Jose Mourinho s arrival and in a media conference on Monday, Giggs confirmed he had soug…