Jose Mourinho has compared "really special" Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe to Brazil legend Ronaldo, claiming that both players made opposition managers "afraid".
Mbappe scored his fifth league goal of the season as his side fell to a shock 2-1 defeat at Dijon on Friday, having scored a Champions League hat-trick against Club Brugge just a week before.
And Mourinho cannot help but be impressed by the 20-year-old as he continues to build a career at the very top of the game.
“Mbappe's qualities are absolutely incredible,” Mourinho told Telefoot . “His playing style, what he can do in a football game, it's really special.
“And you have to be really special and have unique qualities [in football]. When you look at the specificity of his qualities, he is really different from other players.
“The only player that comes to my memory [to compare] is Ronaldo Nazario. They are players with unique qualities. When you play against them, you are afraid."
Mbappe scored 33 league goals last season to finish as Ligue 1's top goalscorer award, beating team-mates Edinson Cavani and Neymar to the top spot as PSG clinched their eighth league title.
The French forward has started this season in a similar vein, and has scored seven goals in his last four matches in all competitions.
He was voted in sixth place in The Best FIFA Player awards, and was also named in the FIFA FIFPro Men’s World11 earlier this year.
“I spoke with Kylian for three minutes at the FIFA The Best ceremony,” added Mourinho. “When he speaks with me, he also talks with my two or three friends. He speaks with everyone with simplicity and with the right education.”
Mbappe was heavily linked with a move away from Paris in the summer, with Real Madrid still keen to acquire his services after a lengthy pursuit in the last transfer window.
More recently, both Juventus and Liverpool have reportedly shown interest in the highly sought-after forward.
Despite three league losses already this season, the French champions sit seven points clear of second-placed Angers at the top of Ligue 1.
They lost just five league games in the last campaign, but remain well on their way to clinching a third successive title this season.