Sorry, I am too young. You are probably speaking about 60 years old plus people. I grow up with Zidane who won us a World Cup, alongside an European cup and another World Cup final.
Is Mbappe the best french player ever?
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In a great position to take the record.
60 appearances for France at 23 is crazy
should go down quite easily as their top scorer and probably most appearances
should go down quite easily as their top scorer and probably most appearances
You don't have to be 60, you can watch his games in full and read all about him. Ignorance isn't an excuse. There are plenty of great players who didn't win the world cup, it's not the be all.
No, not by a long shot, Zidane says hi. Also do not forget about Cantona.
If he missed a couple of chances and a penalty today, there'd be an "is Mbappe the most overrated player ever?" thread in this one's place.
The best French player ever is either Zidane or Platini
Yes, and I'm not trying to be sarcastic. Sure, he still lacks important trophies at the club level. But at 23 years old, he is better than Platini, Zidane, and Benzema when they are the same age.
It may sound weird but Zidane for whatever reason seems to get more and more underrated as time goes on. I'd argue he shares GOAT-level status with some of the other stars.
He was in that Galacticos team with other massive stars, and many times he felt like the pick of the bunch.
Thierry Henry for a number of seasons was just a cheat-code of a player - while he was great for France, he was a completely different level at Arsenal though
He was in that Galacticos team with other massive stars, and many times he felt like the pick of the bunch.
Thierry Henry for a number of seasons was just a cheat-code of a player - while he was great for France, he was a completely different level at Arsenal though
I am not a geek enough to watch old games. And ignorance is not my argument but trophies. I can say that it’s awesome for a country to win a World Cup. You should try and then come back to me about the « it’s not the be all ».
I am a bit teasing but I am tired about this arguments about players most of us have never seen play. Best player is kind of childish as football is a team game so it’s subjective.
only the second player to reach 7 before the age of 25 (after Pele)
Does being best french player ever mean bring the best while being french or being best in France jersey, cuz if it's the latter Benzems didn't achieve much in blue colors.
I probably respect and understand your point and I think people have different opinions about judging the level of players. I would say in the pre-Zidane era, France produced two of the best players in history named Kopa and Platini. This is the full matches of both so you can watch both Platini and Kopa playing and decide what level both are at.
https://footballia.net/players/michel-platini
https://footballia.eu/players/raymond-kopaszewski
Over 100 full matches combined from both players
I think I can recommend Platini's great games if you want to watch his best/great performances in both clubs or internationally.
Or if you don't want to watch the full match, they have a lot of highlights from our lovely @harms who produce a lot of Platini's videos
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He might possibly get there but he's nowhere near yet.
Can't believe this thread. Recency bias par excellence. He may be brilliant but he's just got started, and in a lower league.
Of course Platini and Zidane are the top two candidates. Henry too. Cantona not even in the top 10 to be honest, despite his rôle as beautiful catalyst for United.
If Mbappe moves from PSG, wins some big trophies, then he will definitely be in the conversation in the next 5 years.
Of course Platini and Zidane are the top two candidates. Henry too. Cantona not even in the top 10 to be honest, despite his rôle as beautiful catalyst for United.
If Mbappe moves from PSG, wins some big trophies, then he will definitely be in the conversation in the next 5 years.
I grew up with Zidane and have seen a fair amount of Platini's game, the ones with France are or were on the INA website. But that's beside the point, there is no chance that you haven't heard that Platini was the best french player of all time in France. The only one that comes close and has an argument is Zidane but Platini was a far superior and more consistent player with his clubs.
he's not far off Platini's appearances for France now, and already has a world cup which Platini never won
he might be young but he has 60 caps already
whilst I think Platini is definitely number one, I don't think he's a million miles away.. and if he wins this world cup he's definitely in the conversation already
He's on the road to breaking Klose's record and I think he can do it in the future for sure since he's only 23 years old and has a lot of chances to play in the next 3 or 4 world Cups.
Platini is closer to two millions miles away. One big difference is that Platini was France what Griezmann and Mbappé are, he was the playmaker and the goalscorer. Neither of them have been as good in their specialized roles.
Henry was far more creative too. We're talking about the Premier League's greatest player here.
Henry had the pace, but he also had the technique, control, strength and finesse of Pogba.
Mbappe is a bit more like Papin. He has better acceleration than Henry, his running is also a bit more intense. There's a real aggression around his game. For France, despite Henry being underrated for the national team, he will be better than Henry. However, as a player, I think people are forgetting just how complete Henry was. In terms of talent, him and Neymar are the same level, with Henry having the professionalism that Neymar hasn't had throughout his career. It took Henry a longer time to get to that level which will work in Mbappe's favour.
As for Platini and Zidane. With the right circumstance, both for the national team and as a player, I can see him being regarded as better in future. He has years to do this and is playing at the highest level already. He will be more consistent that Zidane was, therefore will have more impact on his club sides than Zidane. Another world cup win, like this tournament, where he is the clear star of the team might create a few more conversations. However at club level, he really needs to decide what he wants to do. If he stays at PSG, then winning the champions league multiple times is a must. He will need to get PSG to a point where they are respected in a similar way to Bayern despite the weakness of the league.
That's true of Platini's performance at the club level, he's a more consistent player, especially in league games. In fact, sometimes Juventus's Zidane was criticized by the Italian media for his consistency, especially in the Serie-A.
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if he wins a second world cup you'd still have Platini ahead?
For France alone I mean. Suffice to say, Platini's club exploits stand far ahead.
Zidane without question as of today, but someday it may be Mbappe.
Thanks to this thread, I've looked a bit more into Platini, though of course I knew his reputation.
Never had any clue how prolific he was - 25 goals or more per season in 10 different seasons from an AM position. Zidane never managed half of that in any one season.
Never had any clue how prolific he was - 25 goals or more per season in 10 different seasons from an AM position. Zidane never managed half of that in any one season.
Of course, Platini was the better player. Winning a competition doesn't mean that a player is better, it's a team sport. Mbappé will only be in contention if he becomes an actual catalyst for France and his clubs. At the moment that player is Griezmann for France and for PSG it has almost exclusively been Neymar.
Mbappé is a brilliant player and arguable the best of the current/future generation but he isn't at the level of his predecessors.
I know, right? Mbappe may be talented but he hasn't done a thing to even be close to Zidane or Platini
He also did it in one of the most defensive leagues ever.
He was a complete scorer. Both feet obviously, but also such a good header of the ball. And one of the best free kicks taker of all time.
Fair play. It’s just that I am not attached to Platini.
Errrrrrr no!
No chance
I don’t think people in here grasp how good Platini was. His Euro ‘84 is top 3 greatest individual performance throughout a major in the history of majors. If it was the World Cup he did that in, history would not have its current landscape.
As an individual, he doesn’t have a French peer. Mbappè will have to do a lot more to be in the conversation with him.
As an individual, he doesn’t have a French peer. Mbappè will have to do a lot more to be in the conversation with him.
Come on now. No way. Not a patch on Platini or Zidane yet. He’s a huge talent, undoubtedly, but there’s still a long way to go.
Zidane by some distance.
Mbappe has a long time to go but Henry was better than Mbappe has been so far.
Not yet. He is still far behind Platini, who has won 3 Ballon D'or. He is also far behind Zidane, who has also won Ballon D'or, WC, Euro and CL.
But I'd say he is right on track to achieve great things in future.
But just not yet. He is not even better than Henry yet.
But I'd say he is right on track to achieve great things in future.
But just not yet. He is not even better than Henry yet.
Whenever we played Arsenal I got scared every time Henry got the ball. He was immense. Just like when Messi gets onthe ball you think something is going to happen, he was the same. Not many players have given me that feeling.
Mbappe has a long long way to go to get near the achievements of zidane and platini.
Platini at his peak was up there with peak maradonna.
Zidane for france was something to behold. So graceful on the pitch, a touch with the ball that few have ever had.
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He’d need to focus on being better than Rashford first.
He’s cowing miles off - could get there one day
As others have said, he's arguably not even at Benzema's level yet, never mind the greats; Cantona, Platini, and the untouchable Zidane.