Zlatan Ibrahimovic has said Kylian Mbappe is the first player to excite him to the same extent as Brazilian striker Ronaldo.
Nicknamed ‘El Fenomeno’, Ronaldo enjoyed a superb career in Europe and represented the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter and AC Milan.
The former striker also played a pivotal role for Brazil as they won the 2002 World Cup, and only Miroslav Klose has netted more goals in the history of the tournament.
Therefore, Ronaldo is still considered one of the greatest forwards in the history of the game and, speaking in a recent interview, Ibrahimovic was keen to reserve some special praise for his all-time favourite player.
“It has always been the Brazilian Ronaldo,” the former Juventus and Manchester United told GQ.
“When he played, everyone wanted to copy it, the movement, that little bag, bam-bam. He had too elegant a style. He was the one who made me stand in front of the television watching the game.”
Asked whether any modern-day player reminds him of Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic said Paris Saint-Germain’s frontman Mbappe excites him to the same degree.
“Maybe Mbappe makes the difference, he's young, we hope he continues to work hard," he said. “At 19 he is already a star. I hope he is still hungry and passionate about the game, to grow and do even more. It's hard not to get your head together.”
Much like Ronaldo, Mbappe has won the World Cup as a teenager and both possess blisteringly fast pace and an eye for goal.
Another man who knows where the back of the net is, is Ibrahimovic, and the 38-year-old is currently on the lookout for a new club, with rumours rife he is about to return to Italy with AC Milan.
“I’ll see you in Italy soon,” he joked earlier this week, before adding: “I will join a club that must get back to winning, that has to renew its history and is in search of a battle against everyone and everything.”
The much-travelled attacker has been without a club since he left LA Galaxy last month and has been linked with a move to the majority of Europe’s top leagues.