Can Pele be surpassed by Kylian Mbappé in World Cup titles when he retires?

Brazilian legend Pele always had a soft spot for many players but perhaps he had it the most with Kylian Mbappé. From the very first moment he appeared in 2017, the young French forward started racking up praises from O'Rei himself. They met a couple of times in person and developed a beautiful friendship. Mbappé always revered him as the true GOAT despite having Cristiano Ronaldo as his childhood hero and playing with Messi at PSG. Every time some news about his health condition broke, Mbappé was one of the first to send Pele a message.

How similar is Kylian Mbappé to Pele?

Besides the growing friendship, Pele also saw a lot of himself every time he watched Kylian perform. Becoming only the second teenager in football history to score in the World Cup's knock out stages behind Pele is only a small part of their similarities. Mbappé has all the atributes Pele used to possess when he was a youngster and he also leads a generational national team. Pele was a generational talent amongst some of the most talented football generations to ever exist. Mbappé is going through a very similar experience with France.

Where Pele set himself apart amongst stars, Kylian Mbappe is doing the same as he plays next to incredible French stars. However, there are some minor differences these two have that show how impressive talent they both have. Pele's goal-scoring average was far moreimpressive than Mbappé's at the same age. Although Kylian has always played in France and Pele always played in Brazil. But considering he still has at least another two World Cup tournaments to play at the highest level, we can easily see Kylian probably winning the same three World Cup titles Pele won in his prime.

Another aspect to note about these similarities is that Pele scored a brace in the final when Brazil won the title against Sweden in 1958. Mbappé got himself a hat-trick but not even that was enough for him to win the trophy against Lionel Messi's Argentina. Speaking of his PSG teammate, he printed his name in many different World Cup records but Mbappé will threaten to obliterate all of them when it's all said and done. Here's to Kylian never picking up a serious injury and allowing us to enjoy him at this level throughout his entire career. O'Rei Pele will be watching him from heaven as he continues the football legacy.