Manchester United star Casemiro has revealed who he believes can fill the huge void left by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and become the best player in the world. The 32-year-old Brazilian midfielder Casemiro has named four players he believes are the “heirs” to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s throne.
Casemiro was a key part of an iconic period of success at Real Madrid, where the Spanish giants won five Champions League titles in eight years. There, Casemiro played alongside some of the greatest footballers of all time, including Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric, among others.
But Los Blancos’ current crop of talent could prove they can follow in the footsteps of Messi and Ronaldo, especially if Casemiro’s prediction comes true. Speaking to Spanish Diario AS, the Brazilian has predicted that Kylian Mbappe will establish himself as the best player in the world at the Bernabeu, and also suggested that three of his team-mates could follow in Mbappe’s footsteps and become as good as Ronaldo and Messi.
Casemiro named four players who could reach the level of Messi and Ronaldo, “He (Mbappe) is one of those players that when you play against him, you don’t know how to stop him. Mbappe hasn’t reached the podium yet, but he will get there. Mbappe is the successor (of Messi and Ronaldo), along with Vinicius Jr, who continues to grow and improve in every game, Rodrygo and Fede Valverde.”
It has taken Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid from PSG last summer, a few weeks to settle into the unfamiliar No. 9 role, but the 26-year-old Frenchman has silenced his doubters with 28 goals in all competitions this season. Most recently, Mbappe became only the fourth player in Real Madrid’s history to score a hat-trick in a Champions League knockout match, after Brazil’s Ronaldo Nazario, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. Mbappe scored a hat-trick against Manchester City.
Vinicius, meanwhile, has been regarded as one of Europe’s top strikers for years and was just one goal away from winning the Ballon d’Or last October. The 24-year-old Brazilian has scored more than 20 goals in each of the last four seasons and needs just three more to do the same this term.
Rodrygo, 24, and Valverde, 26, may not have the star power of Mbappe, Vinicius or Jude Bellingham, but their importance at the Bernabeu is undeniable. Both have been regulars in Real Madrid’s first team for over half a decade, and many, including Casemiro, believe they are the ones who have truly ushered in a new era for Real Madrid.
“Valverde is a player who leads the team and can mark an era,” said Casemiro. “He gives everything on the pitch. Among the new midfielders, he is the best. In my time, the 4-3-3 was the main formation and I created the balance. But now football is changing and there is more deployment all over the pitch. Valverde is the perfect number 8. A spectacular box-to-box midfielder, fantastic.”
Back in 2022, Casemiro praised Rodrygo, who has scored 49 goals for Real Madrid in the past two and a half years. “Rodrygo has lit up my eyes. He is a star,” Casemiro beamed, “God has given him the gift of playing football.
Rodrygo knows when to attack, when to defend, when to be more aggressive, when to play vertically. This boy is one of the most complete players of his generation.”
