Matteo Darmian: 'Rashford can reach Mbappé level and win Ballon d'Or'

[Sayros]

Whatever heart, mentality, dedication you want to attribute to Rashford, Mbappé has just as much, if not more, but with far more talent and ability. This is a kid that, at 18 and becoming Ligue 1 champion with Monaco, went to bed early that night of celebration to train and get ready for next season. He’s constantly improving, basically almost month to month. I honestly struggle to see any young player who will come close to him.

That doesn’t mean he’ll win all the individual awards but I think there are other players below Mbappé that are more talented than Rashford like Haaland and Sancho and that’s just forwards.

Rashford will be a solid player, maybe even great and prove me wrong, but I’m not holding my breath and I definitely don’t see him surpassing Mbappe.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Don't see it. Rashford could be an excellent player if everything falls in place but Mbappe is someone who will be in the top 2-3 in the world in his prime years.

For me there's a significant gap between the two. I'd be happy for Rashford to be among the top 10-15 forwards in the game.

 

[Luke1995]

It says quite a bit about Mbappe that Rashford is the one expected to reach his level given that Rashford is older!

 

[Righteous Steps]

It’s a bit premature talking about Ballon D’or when he isn’t top 5 players in the Premier League as of yet

 

[Righteous Steps]

If we look at who is likely to be the generational talents of Rashfords Peak he does look in with a shot, but will depend on him improving season by season, something he's done consistently.

Mbappe, Sancho, Havertz, Foden? De Jong. Any others people can think of?

There’s load of world beating talents in youth teams across the world we barely know about, football doesn’t work in a linear fashion like that most of the times, I mean even Rashford wasn’t hyped up in comparison to other English talents when coming through United youth team.

He needs to first focus on being the best player in the league he is in, which Mbappe is, then can start aiming higher, one step at a time.

 

[cyberman]

Depends how you rate him.

Some people think he's better than Neymar, but I don't think that's the case at all(and a younger Neymar had more natural talent than Mbappe imo).

He's definitely one of the 5 best players in the world.

Is he better than KDB, Sane, Salah, VVD etc? I have no idea what hes shown to be considered better than that calibre of player.
Can anyone say hes been better than Sterling over the last 2 seasons? Rashford or Sancho this season?

Im not saying hes a bad player but his reputation isnt adding up the performances needed imo. He isnt this beast that means Rahford etc needs supermen seasons to bypass him for the top honours

 

[El Zoido]

I believe Rashford has the talent to win it, but we’d need to also be winning the CL.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

Rashford n Greenwood are going to win league titles for us. I can just feel it.

Eventually I think Greenwood will push Martial out of the team as quite frankly I think he's potentially going to be one of the best strikers in the world. Martial is still a good player but I still do question his work ethic at times. Some days he just looks like he can't be bothered and Rashford gives 110 every single game even when he's not playing great.

 

[padzilla]

Mbappe hasn't really set the CL alight which is the top level for professional footballers, as prestigious as the WC is it just isn't at the same level. I have no doubt Mbappe will become a truly great player but unless he inspires PSG to CL glory he will have to move to a bigger club to fulfil his potential.

 

[Thepinhead]

Good interview. It is nice to hear positive things about Solskjaer, Pogba and the team in general. Hopefully we are soon back to where we belong.

 

[UpWithRivers]

If Rashford he had the likes of Klopp or Guardiola coaching him and he could stay fit he would be way ahead of where he is now. Most of of our managers couldnt even decide his best position. Looks like left now but thats only recently. If you look how Sterling went from raw to what he is now then is Rashford could get the same coaching he will be up there with the best of them. He needs to learn football intelligence. When everything s going well he is brilliant. When its not he needs to out smart his opponents. Find space. Know when to pass, where to move etc. This is what happened to Sterling. If you look at him now he knows exactly where to go and when.

Better than Mbappe? Never. Unless Mbappe declines due to injury etc

 

[elmo]

No. Rooney was a better talent and we'd be lucky if Rashford has a career that even somehow resembles his and Rooney never had a shot at Ballon d'Or. Also, Rashford is brilliant, and he's definitely one of the brightest young talents in the world, but Mbappé's natural ability is on another level, unless he gets a serious injury, no one from the current crop is catching him.

Rooney's also not the kind of player who puts himself in the best position with the diet and lifestyle he leads.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Is he better than KDB, Sane, Salah, VVD etc? I have no idea what hes shown to be considered better than that calibre of player.
Can anyone say hes been better than Sterling over the last 2 seasons? Rashford or Sancho this season?

Im not saying hes a bad player but his reputation isnt adding up the performances needed imo. He isnt this beast that means Rahford etc needs supermen seasons to bypass him for the top honours

Yes he's clearly better than Sterling. Just watch the two and it's obvious who the better player is.

Why is Sane in those list of names?

 

[jem]

My favourite United player ever. When Darmian says things He mean it. He's not a fake drama queen. I believe this guy.

If I didn’t know better, I’d read your post as saying Darmian is your favourite United player ever. Speaking of Darmian, he comes across as very likeable in that interview.

 

[KennyBurner]

I'm sorry but what the hell is 'an innate level of hidden ability' supposed to mean and what relevance does it have to anything.

He's an excellent young player who's continuously improving every area of his game and the sky appears to be the limit for him at the moment.

In relation to the Op, I think a Balon D'Or is a tall order for any PL player so he'd be doing very well to be nominated but I think he has the talent.

What I mean by this is does he have any other level of ability that we haven’t seen other than what we know about? His current natural ability isn’t on the same level as Mbappe or ousmanne dembele. Those two have always been clear from the very start. One is exceeding expectations while the other has been continuously injured and isn’t professional. Rashford is a very good prospect but would you say he has world class ability like the other two? I don’t think so at all but would love to hear what you personally think.

 

[SilentWitness]

I think Sancho is the best English talent. Rashford is very very good but I think he has too many off games compared to people like Mbappe and Sancho. The output of those two is unreal. Let’s not forget that Mbappe also lit up the World Cup and this year in the CL had 5 goals and 5 assists too. He does it on the big stage before people try and use the ‘farmer league’ argument.

 

[Withnail]

What I mean by this is does he have any other level of ability that we haven’t seen other than what we know about? His current natural ability isn’t on the same level as Mbappe or ousmanne dembele. Those two have always been clear from the very start. One is exceeding expectations while the other has been continuously injured and isn’t professional. Rashford is a very good prospect but would you say he has world class ability like the other two? I don’t think so at all but would love to hear what you personally think.

It was the words you put together that confused me. To me, the sentence was essentially meaningless

Ok, so if you mean has he shown that he has the potential to be one of the greats, I think he has although it's obviously hard to know what his ceiling is.


Very few players, Ronaldo included, are able to do what Mbappe's done at such a young age.

I do think you are running him down a bit.
When Rashford's on form I think he's shown he has the potential to be a top player. Some of his touches, shots and close control are fantastic.

If he continues to develop as he has done, avoids chronic injury, I think the sky is the limit.

However, it's very early to be talking about Mbappe comparisons or Balon d'Ors.

 

[jackal&hyde]

Don't see it. Rashford could be an excellent player if everything falls in place but Mbappe is someone who will be in the top 2-3 in the world in his prime years.

For me there's a significant gap between the two. I'd be happy for Rashford to be among the top 10-15 forwards in the game.

You don't think he is there now? Particularly left sided forward?

The thread title makes it sound like Mbappe is a multiple Ballon d'Or' winner or something. At this point he hasn't gotten to a CL semifinal yet and is destroying a league that is won before it even starts. Both him and Rashford are superb talents and both will be great imo.

 

[cyberman]

Yes he's clearly better than Sterling. Just watch the two and it's obvious who the better player is.

Why is Sane in those list of names?

Sorry Mane.
Sterling has had a fantastic 2 years and fans were starting to see him challenge the top 2 in terms of performances so high was his level.
I just dont see what Mbappe has done to better that. Where are these performances? Games where we came away thinking he was the best player on the pitch? CL group games v Belgrade?

 

[amolbhatia50k]

You don't think he is there now? Particularly left sided forward?

The thread title makes it sound like Mbappe is a multiple Ballon d'Or' winner or something. At this point he hasn't gotten to a CL semifinal yet and is destroying a league that is won before it even starts. Both him and Rashford are superb talents and both will be great imo.

I mean, Rashford has had one really good half season. Prior to that he was a very promising and talented young forward. I don't think that puts him up there with the top 10-15 forwards in the sport, not yet at least. And Mbappe isn't a multiple Balon Dor winner but firstly he doesn't need to be, to be comfortably ahead of Rashford. And secondly his peformances on the pitch clearly put him on a different padestal. He tends to have that consistent match winning /influencing quality that one of the best tend to have.

Personally, I'd like to see Rashford have a brilliant full season next year before considering him up there among that too 10-15 category. As for Mbappe, he's not some new Messi level player or anything. But he does look like someone whose set to be in the elite bracket of the game for the next decade.

 

[SilentWitness]

Sorry Mane.
Sterling has had a fantastic 2 years and fans were starting to see him challenge the top 2 in terms of performances so high was his level.
I just dont see what Mbappe has done to better that. Where are these performances? Games where we came away thinking he was the best player on the pitch? CL group games v Belgrade?

69 goals and 34 assists in 76 games for PSG. World Cup winner and only teenager apart from Pele to score in a final. MOTM performance in the Argentina game by far. I really like Sterling but since January he's been terrible. Mbappe is a stats machine. Ligue 1, CL, French Cups, International stage. It doesn't matter where. He performs.

 

[mshnsh]

What pisses me off is how much both people within man utd and the english tabloids love to over hype Rashford. Imo Rashford would not get into the best united sides under Ferguson.

Not only mbappe but the likes of sancho and haaland are easily better forwards than him.

 

[mshnsh]

69 goals and 34 assists in 76 games for PSG. World Cup winner and only teenager apart from Pele to score in a final. MOTM performance in the Argentina game by far. I really like Sterling but since January he's been terrible. Mbappe is a stats machine. Ligue 1, CL, French Cups, International stage. It doesn't matter where. He performs.

I think he is abit overrated as well on 2 accounts .

1.he relies alot on speed

2.he plays in a league where PSG are so dominant that he would have to be an average footballer not to get the stats he got.

As for the argentina game, that was the worst Argentine side ever in terms of defence and midfield that was entirely reliant on one player who himself is post peak

 

[Untd55]

There’s load of world beating talents in youth teams across the world we barely know about, football doesn’t work in a linear fashion like that most of the times, I mean even Rashford wasn’t hyped up in comparison to other English talents when coming through United youth team.

He needs to first focus on being the best player in the league he is in, which Mbappe is, then can start aiming higher, one step at a time.

Don't agree with needing to take one step at a time. Ronaldo was nowhere near the best player in the Premier League in 2005/06 and was 14th for Ballon d'Or for 2006, but in the next season he was the best in the league and was 2nd for the Ballon d'Or.

Ballon d'Or winners do tend to go up several levels in one go when you actually look at previous winners. Rashford may very well go from his current level to the best in the league next season.

 

[Rolaholic]

Mbappe is vastly overrated to be honest.

In what sense? He was bossing it as a teenager in huge CL knockout ties at Monaco and has only gotten much better in Paris while winning a World Cup in that time. I'd say he's rated about right for what he's already shown so far in his career.

Maybe you don't think the level in Ligue 1 isn't up to par with other leagues and the jury is still out on how he'd do elsewhere but we can only go off of what he's done in the situations he's faced and he's been elite in that regard.

 

[Righteous Steps]

Don't agree with needing to take one step at a time. Ronaldo was nowhere near the best player in the Premier League in 2005/06 and was 14th for Ballon d'Or for 2006, but in the next season he was the best in the league and was 2nd for the Ballon d'Or.

Ballon d'Or winners do tend to go up several levels in one go when you actually look at previous winners. Rashford may very well go from his current level to the best in the league next season.

Ronaldo is an anomaly, obviously.

 

[cyberman]

In what sense? He was bossing it as a teenager in huge CL knockout ties at Monaco and has only gotten much better in Paris while winning a World Cup in that time. I'd say he's rated about right for what he's already shown so far in his career.

Maybe you don't think the level in Ligue 1 isn't up to par with other leagues and the jury is still out on how he'd do elsewhere but we can only go off of what he's done in the situations he's faced and he's been elite in that regard.

I think his achievements have gotten less as he gets older. If his career was in reverse i would say hes on an unstoppable trend but the wow performances are few and far between so far. Hes lost a bit of that spark he had when he was tearing City a new one. Everytime he got the ball it was like a nobody could stop him.
Id put Sancho ahead of him as of now, others are catching up.
Xavi called him a physical player and i tend to agree with him. It doesnt give him much scope tovastly inprove, what is he going to get faster?
Is he ahead of Halaand as we speak?

 

[SilentWitness]

I think he is abit overrated as well on 2 accounts .

1.he relies alot on speed

2.he plays in a league where PSG are so dominant that he would have to be an average footballer not to get the stats he got.

As for the argentina game, that was the worst Argentine side ever in terms of defence and midfield that was entirely reliant on one player who himself is post peak

1. This makes no sense. He is overrated because he uses a quality that he has to his advantage? His goals and assists record shows how good he is at finishing and creativity.

2. 9 goals and 10 assists in 15 CL games in the last 2 seasons.

 

[Cascarino]

Mbappe hasn't really set the CL alight which is the top level for professional footballers, as prestigious as the WC is it just isn't at the same level. I have no doubt Mbappe will become a truly great player but unless he inspires PSG to CL glory he will have to move to a bigger club to fulfil his potential.

He’s 21 and already has about 20 CL goals. No one at his age had that many CL goals or even close, so that’s a weird criticism.

 

[Water Melon]

It says quite a bit about Mbappe that Rashford is the one expected to reach his level given that Rashford is older!

This.

 

[Jonno]

What pisses me off is how much both people within man utd and the english tabloids love to over hype Rashford. Imo Rashford would not get into the best united sides under Ferguson.

I don't think many are saying Rashford would walk into the 99 or 08 teams mate... but there's no doubt about it, he would be rotated and slowly introduced to those teams like he did countless times over the years with young talent.

Re-visit in 5 years and you might think differently.

 

[romufc]

It says quite a bit about Mbappe that Rashford is the one expected to reach his level given that Rashford is older!

Yes, that doesnt take anything away from Rashford though.

You have to appreciate what he is doing because he is is playing in the PL, in a team fighting for top 4. He isnt playing with Neymar, Cavani, Di Maria, Veratti and the like.
He is playing in the French league where PSG beat teams 4-0 on a weekly basis.
Done very well at the world cup which was expected playing in a French team filled with superstars in Griezman, Pogba, Kante, Varane

Rashford is having to prove alot of doubters wrong. Mbappe should be scoring in CL games V Barca, Real, Dortmund etc..

 

[432JuanMata]

Rashford was stepping into his own this season and becoming the player I wanted him to be. But come on Mbappe is different gravy which isn’t disrespecting Rashford at all

 

[noodlehair]

No. Rooney was a better talent and we'd be lucky if Rashford has a career that even somehow resembles his and Rooney never had a shot at Ballon d'Or. Also, Rashford is brilliant, and he's definitely one of the brightest young talents in the world, but Mbappé's natural ability is on another level, unless he gets a serious injury, no one from the current crop is catching him.

Rooney is a weird comparison as he was also the better looking player out of him and Ronaldo for quite a few years. He just never really pushed on...if it wasn't for that and the fact Ronaldo and Messi exist he probably would have been competing for Ballon d'Ors. I also find "can reach Mbappe levels" a weird statement though as Mbappe is younger than Rashford so this doesn't really make much sense. Mbappe arguably has more scope for improvement than Rashford does.

I've thought for a long while now that Rashford has it in him to be among the best in the world. He's got the ability and the selfish streak to get there, and his work rate gives him an edge over a lot of other players who might otherwise be at a similar level.

I'd say natural ability wise Martial was probably ahead of him to start with for example, but Rashford is easily the better player now...and that's not really a criticism of Martial. Some players just have that bit of extra drive for some reason. It's what players like Ronaldo and Bale had at Rashford's age and that's one of the reasons they reached the level they did.

By last season, presumably you meant from Dec until February (after PSG/Liverpool game) - so around 3 months?

Rashford has performed well for his age, but we need him at least start delivering over an entire season, becoming more consistent and improve his lower levels

He scored 27 goals for us in very little over a year for us leading up to his injury, mostly as a wide player. I mean that's impressive for someone who's inconsistent. It's better numbers than you'll find from the likes of Salah and Rashford is playing for a team that has largely struggled in that period.

He did have a really poor run at the start of this season but I'm convinced he wasn't fully fit during that time...the fact he was either limping around or having to be subbed off towards the end of every game at the time was kind of a giveaway to be fair.

Honestly I think at this point Rashford's biggest obstacle is he's in danger of being held back by playing for a struggling team, although hopefully it works the other way and he's one of the players who helps push the team up a level.

I think you'll always get inconsistency because he is such a direct player. He doesn't play safe balls often so he'll have games or spells where things don't come off. Ronaldo was always the same to be fair, and I'd be happy if Rashford got anywhere even approaching as good.

 

[Jeppers7]

Rashford is a sensational footballer and he’s starting to put everything together. He was quite talismanic for us this season, and he’s been great for England. He’s certainly going to be world class. Nice to hear the opinion of Darmian, who clearly has more knowledge on his potential than some plebs on here.

 

[harms]

Rooney is a weird comparison as he was also the better looking player out of him and Ronaldo for quite a few years. He just never really pushed on...if it wasn't for that and the fact Ronaldo and Messi exist he probably would have been competing for Ballon d'Ors. I also find "can reach Mbappe levels" a weird statement though as Mbappe is younger than Rashford so this doesn't really make much sense. Mbappe arguably has more scope for improvement than Rashford does.

What does age have to do with this? Mbappé is clearly a better player at the moment — and he has proven it at every possible level, including Champions League & World Cup. So if we're taking a point of reference here, it should be Mbappé, who is ahead, and not Rashford, who is slightly behind in his development. Mbappé probably has more scope for improvement than Rashford, as you've said, but that is because he has a higher potential, not because he is somewhat behind than Rashford in any aspect.

I know that my posts in this thread may sound harsh towards Rashford, but I rate him as one of the brightest talents in the world in his category. Mbappé, on the other hand, was one of the most impressive and accomplished teenager footballers that I've personally seen — and this is where Rooney's comparison comes from, as he also falls into the same category for me. And his career trajectory has been uninterrupted in its way up so far, unlike Rashford's, who had some setbacks already (that mostly had poor management as the reason behind it).

I've thought for a long while now that Rashford has it in him to be among the best in the world. He's got the ability and the selfish streak to get there, and his work rate gives him an edge over a lot of other players who might otherwise be at a similar level.

By the way, that I agree with. It's just that Ballon d'Or level requires you to be the best in the world and not simply one of — like, say, Rooney was or Agüero was/is...

 

[Yagami]

By the way, that I agree with. It's just that Ballon d'Or level requires you to be the best in the world and not simply one of — like, say, Rooney was or Agüero was/is...
[/QUOTE]
That went out of the window when Modric won it.

 

[Le Red]

No. Rooney was a better talent and we'd be lucky if Rashford has a career that even somehow resembles his and Rooney never had a shot at Ballon d'Or. Also, Rashford is brilliant, and he's definitely one of the brightest young talents in the world, but Mbappé's natural ability is on another level, unless he gets a serious injury, no one from the current crop is catching him.

Rooney never had a shot at the Ballon d'Or because his competition was Messi and Ronaldo and because he was severely injured in arguably his best season where he'd be a major contender had it not happened, so this point is moot.
Mbappe is younger and better than Rashford, but this doesn't tell the whole story, a footballer's development is very unpredictable and so often young phenomenons stale while other players have a later peak.
Right now Rashford is up there with the most promising players in the world, so a Ballon d'Or is not out of question, although I wouldn't put my money on it happening.
Truth be told, it shall be a very underwhelming battle for the title of best player in the world. The possible contenders are not even close to Messi and Ronaldo. They are not close to recent legends like Xavi, Iniesta and Robben. They are not close to the legends of the 90s or 00s either.
Today we have good players with very high tactical functionality, but I miss the sheer talent of the last decades.

 

[Le Red]

Mbappe is vastly overrated to be honest.

Vastly is a strong word. I do think he's overrated though, people talk about him like he's the Brazilian Ronaldo or something. Not even close.
He's very, very good though, there's no denying that.

 

[harms]

Rooney never had a shot at the Ballon d'Or because his competition was Messi and Ronaldo and because he was severely injured in arguably his best season where he'd be a major contender had it not happened, so this point is moot.

This was the only season where he had truly been a Ballon d'Or contender until April or when did that Bayern game happen. It's nice to imagine that he would've continued his form to the World Cup as well, but we have no way of knowing it. Messi & Ronaldo arguments only work for the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Ribery, who had a realistic shot at the award at the moment of the vote (and not in April); Rooney never did, even though I sincerely believe that he had a potential to do that.