“Pure striker”, “Complete player” – Gerard Pique makes Ballon d’Or claim while evaluating Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has sung the praises of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe while emphasizing their potential to win the Ballon d'Or someday.

Both players have been touted to forge the next big player rivalry after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo eventually hang up their boots. The youngster duo have impressed greatly since bursting onto the scene and taking the world by storm with their incredible talents.

The Norwegian has established himself as a goalscoring machine. He has scored 85 goals and made 23 assists from 87 appearances for Borussia Dortmund since joining them in 2019.

The Frenchman, meanwhile, boasts enviable stats in both goals and assists. He has scored a staggering 167 goals and made 84 assists in 214 for Paris Saint-Germain since joining them in 2017. He has also won numerous titles with club and country, including the World Cup with France in 2018.

At just 21 and 23 years of age respectively, these young guns have the world at their feet and are widely touted to win the Ballon d'Or someday. They might as well turn it into a two-horse race just as Messi and Ronaldo have over the years.

Pique was effusive in his praise of the stars and evaluated their Ballon d'Or chances.

Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, he said:

“I think they are two of the best right now, they have the potential to win Ballon d'Or for sure, I think Haaland is more of a pure striker, strong, physical with a lot of goals and Mbappe is a more complete player, he can play as a winger and striker."

He added:

"Both are very good, I didn't get the opportunity to play against Haaland, I played against Mbappe, difficult to choose.”

Both players are likely to jump ship this summer as well. As per Marca, the Frenchman is likely to join Real Madrid on a free transfer from PSG. Meanwhile, as per Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio (via Wettfreunde), his Norwegian counterpart is set to join Manchester City.

Mbappe vs Haaland - the next Messi vs Ronaldo

Messi and Ronaldo have contested arguably the greatest individual rivalry in the sport, winning 12 Ballon d'Ors between them. However, this golden era is fast heading to a close, with both players now deep in their 30s.

Given Haaland and Mbappe's meteoric rise to prominence in the last few years, we could already have the next big player duel.

It would be a treat to watch them grow into legends and contest fiercely for the Ballon d'Or, a prize that both are highly capable of winning.