As the World Cup approaches, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi remain iconic figures, but Kylian Mbappe is emerging as a significant contender for popularity and marketability. Mbappe's achievements, including a World Cup win at 19, position him as a potential successor to the legendary duo.
Key points
Ronaldo and Messi are still active legends in football.
Kylian Mbappe has emerged as a significant contender.
Mbappe won the World Cup at 19 and the Golden Boot at 23.
Messi was 35 when he won his first World Cup.
Ronaldo has yet to win a World Cup.
Mentioned in this story
Cristiano RonaldoLionel MessiKylian Mbappe
As the greatest sporting show in the world begins next week, all eyes will be on football’s two household names of the last quarter-century: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo and Messi are not just living legends – they are active legends, still playing at an elite standard for club and country.
For the past five World Cups, they have been the names on everyone’s lips, but as the 2026 tournament begins, has a new player emerged to challenge their mainstream appeal with fans and brands alike?
The player most often mentioned in that conversation is sublimely talented Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe, who jumped straight into the two legends shoes as one of the best and most recognisable stars in Europe once they departed the continent to begin new football chapters in the Middle East (Ronaldo) and the United States (Messi).
Mbappe’s World Cup career arc has, in some ways, already surpassed the Ronaldo-Messi duo: World Cup winner at just 19, Golden Boot winner at 23. In comparison, Messi was 35 when he attained a World Cup trophy, and Ronaldo is yet to win one.
Now, with Ronaldo, 41, and Messi, 38, playing in what is almost certainly their last World Cup, has the popularity torch already been passed to Mbappe as we enter the 2026 edition?
With the World Cup about to kick off, Al Jazeera Sport breaks down some key metrics to determine who has more star power heading into football’s global showpiece:
1. Which player is selling out the World Cup 2026 matches?
⚽ Advantage: Messi
Tickets to Messi’s Argentina group stage matches were the first to be completely sold out.
FIFA said in November that Argentina fans topped ticket sales before the first official release, ostensibly to see Messi in his swan song and also due to his huge profile in the US as the superstar of the domestic Major League Soccer (MLS).
Tickets to Mbappe’s France fixtures and Ronaldo’s Portugal group stage matches eventually sold out as well, though resale sites such as Stubhub have listed tickets for the blockbuster Portugal vs Colombia match in Miami on June 27 at a staggering $3,000-$12,000. Portugal’s other two group stage matches were listed in the $750-$2,000 range.
Argentina vs Austria: ~$750-$1,500
Argentina vs Algeria: ~$700-$2,300
Argentina vs Jordan: ~$1,000-$6,400
France vs Senegal ~$750-$2,400
France vs Iraq ~$480-$3,100
France vs Norway ~ $850-$2,500
Portugal vs DR Congo ~ $750-$2,000
Portugal vs Uzbekistan ~ $750-$2,000
Colombia vs Portugal ~ 3,000-$12,000
Q&A
How has Kylian Mbappe's World Cup performance compared to Ronaldo and Messi?
Kylian Mbappe won the World Cup at 19 and secured the Golden Boot at 23, achievements that surpass both Ronaldo and Messi's World Cup records.
What are the current standings of Ronaldo and Messi in terms of World Cup popularity?
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continue to be the most recognized names in football, but their mainstream appeal is being challenged by Kylian Mbappe as the 2026 World Cup approaches.
What milestones have Ronaldo and Messi achieved in their World Cup careers?
Messi won his first World Cup at 35, while Ronaldo has yet to win a World Cup, highlighting the contrasting timelines of their careers compared to Mbappe.
Is Kylian Mbappe considered a bigger draw than Ronaldo and Messi for the upcoming World Cup?
As the 2026 World Cup nears, Kylian Mbappe is increasingly viewed as a potential larger draw than Ronaldo and Messi due to his impressive achievements and youthful appeal.
See every story in News — including breaking news and analysis.
Lionel Mesi reacts.
Lionel Messi’s fan appeal extends far beyond his native Argentina [Marcos Brindicci/Getty Images]
2. World Cup stats: by the numbers
⚽ Advantage: Mbappe
Mbappe, 27, is the least experienced but is entering his third World Cup as statistically the most proficient goal-scoring forward of the trio – and by a large margin.
He has already surpassed Ronaldo’s goals total, despite playing eight fewer matches and is only one goal behind Messi.
The Argentinian has the most assists with eight.
Kylian Mbappe: 12 goals (0.86 goals per game), 5 assists in 14 appearances (across two tournaments)
Lionel Messi: 13 goals (0.5 goals per game), 8 assists in 26 appearances (across five tournaments)
Cristiano Ronaldo: 8 goals (0.36 goals per game), 2 assists in 22 appearances (across five tournaments)
3. Who do the fans search for globally?
⚽ Advantage: Ronaldo
Google revealed in 2023 that Ronaldo had been the most searched athlete on their platform over the past 25 years. The Portuguese forward has dominated the annual list of most Googled footballers more than 10 times – trailed mostly by Messi – and is also the most searched athlete and football player.
In advance of the 2026 World Cup, global data analysis has revealed that Ronaldo continues to be the number-one searched footballer based on internet search volumes, according to Hobbs Independent, an online publication and news portal that covers a wide range of global topics.
Ronaldo’s 10,156,667 average monthly searches in 2026 was more than double any other footballer. Messi (3,276,667) and Mbappe (3,132,500) were statistically close in third and fourth, respectively, behind Neymar Jr (5,066,667).
FILE - Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring during a World Cup 2026 group F qualifying soccer match between Portugal and Hungary in Lisbon, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo is popular on and off the field [File: Armando Franca/AP]
4. Who earns the most money?
⚽ Advantage: Ronaldo
Ronaldo still sits head and shoulders above his counterparts when it comes to yearly income. The 40-year-old was the highest-paid athlete in the world in 2025, earning a whopping $280m annually, according to reporting by Forbes Magazine.
Approximately $230m of that comes from his contract with club side Al-Nassr, whom he helped lead to the Saudi Pro League title last month. The other $50m comes from brand endorsements that include Nike, Binance, Herbalife, Whoop, and a personal portfolio of investments.
Messi is next-best with $120m; $50m in salary, but he surpassed his great Portuguese rival in 2025 off-field endorsements at $70m.
Mbappe’s total earnings are the lowest of the trio at $95m. The Frenchman’s $70m Real Madrid salary makes him the highest paid footballer in Europe, but his $25m off-field earnings – which include brand endorsements with Nike, Hublot, and Dior, among others – places him a long way behind Ronaldo and Messi, according to Forbes’ calculations.
5. Social media followers
⚽ Advantage: Ronaldo
Once again, Ronaldo tops the list when it comes to social media clout.
He is the most followed athlete on Instagram with 664 million followers. Messi trails with 506 million, while Mbappe is a distant third at 130 million.
Ronaldo also became the first person in history to surpass 1 billion followers on social media across all major platforms in September 2024.
“This is more than just a number – it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” he wrote in a post on Instagram following the milestone.
“From the streets of Madeira to the biggest stages in the world, I’ve always played for my family and for you, and now 1 billion of us stand together.”
6. Who has the best regular season statistics?
⚽ Advantage: Mbappe
This metric is an easy win for the Frenchman.
Mbappe is the only one of the three superstars who still plays for a premier club in Europe and is regarded by many as the greatest striker in Europe, if not the world.
The Real Madrid talisman was the leading goal scorer for the 2025–26 La Liga season, claiming the Pichichi trophy with 25 goals from 32 appearances. In 2024-25, he also led the Spanish Primera division by scoring 31 goals in 34 league appearances and that tally earned him the European Golden Boot award.
Mbappe’s stupendous goal-scoring achievements are incomparable to Messi’s and Ronaldo’s due to the far higher level of competition and depth in La Liga versus the Saudi Pro League (Ronaldo) and Major League Soccer (Messi).
For the record, Messi scored 29 goals in league play for Inter Miami in 2024-25, earning the MLS Golden Boot and MVP award for the season. Ronaldo scored 28 goals in 30 appearances for Al-Nassr in the 2025–26 Saudi Pro League season.
7. Who is the most marketable star right now?
⚽ Advantage: Mbappe
Mbappe has two clear advantages over Ronaldo and Messi when it comes to the topic of who generates the most commercial value for sponsors right now.
First, the Frenchman plays for the world’s richest club, Real Madrid, and participates in a competition that consistently ranks as the second-highest earning football league globally, bringing in more than 5.4 billion euros ($6.28bn) in total normalised revenue.
Second, his superlative goal-scoring exploits in La Liga are broadcast to a far wider global audience when compared with anything Ronaldo does in Saudi Arabia or Messi achieves in the US league.
As for the relative marketability of the three icons of the game in 2026, that may well be decided by which of their teams can go all the way and win the World Cup for their nation on July 19.
The FIFA World Cup begins on June 11. You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated World Cup 2026 page with all the latest news, match build-up and live text commentary, and keep up to date with group standings, real-time match results and schedules.
Kylian Mbappe reacts.
Mbappe will become even more popular on a global stage if he delivers a second FIFA World Cup trophy for France in eight years [Franck Fife/AFP]
