European Football Championship - Ronaldo versus Mbappé: duel of giants in Hamburg
Before the EM-Quarterfinal between Portugal and France on Friday evening in Hamburg (9 p.m./ZDF and MagentaTV), there is hardly a measurable category where France's striker star Kylian Mbappé can keep up with his childhood idol Ronaldo.
However, no other game of this European Championship can be reduced to the duel of two superstars like this one. "I have shared the dressing room with both," said Portugal's left back Nuno Mendes of former Mbappé's club Paris Saint-Germain in the EM-Quarters of his team on Wednesday. "They are both incredible and can make a difference from one moment to the next."
Ronaldo's last EM-game?
For the EM record player and top scorer Ronaldo, this could even be his last EM-game of his career. At the next tournament in 2028, the 39-year-old definitively will not be there. The king of European football is retiring soon. And Mbappé being his heir is underlined solely by his transfer to the long-term Ronaldo-club Real Madrid this summer.
The "Royals" are reportedly paying the 25-year-old 150 million euros in transfer fees for his signature. Real Madrid is preparing a "Day M" (M-Day) for July 16, according to information from the Spanish sports newspaper "As" (Thursday), on which Mbappé will be presented to 80,000 fans with a grand show in Madrid.
Such numbers and spectacles show that it's no longer just about the sport in modern football. The French team has not offered much more than two own goals and a converted penalty kick from Mbappé in this tournament. With the Portuguese, it's even the case that Ronaldo's presence seems to rather hinder other highly talented players in this squad than effectively include them. The captain plays in every game, he grabs every free kick - but he has not scored a single goal at this EM yet.
UEFA-President: "We need these faces"
Only the great charisma changes nothing. It's Ronaldo who puts the security concept of this tournament to the test because he is constantly being approached by someone who just wants a photo with him. And it's already Ronaldo's jerseys from Al-Nassr FC from Saudi Arabia and from Paris Saint-Germain that children are running around with on German schoolyards and sports fields.
For many, the star counts more than the team in modern football. And that's why UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin told the German Press Agency in an interview about this EM: "We need these faces. After Ronaldo and Messi, new ones will come." Above all, they would attract young people to football.
A bedroom full of Ronaldo posters
Mbappé himself is an example. The day before the EM-Quarterfinal against Portugal, the French sports newspaper "L'Equipe" published a large story with the title "Le Mome et l'Idole" (The Child and the Idol). This includes a photo of Mbappé in his bedroom in Bondy near Paris, which is almost entirely covered with Ronaldo posters.
When Frankreich's idol turned eleven years old, his parents gave him tickets for a Champions League game of Ronaldo and Real Madrid in Marseille. "An autograph, a photo, and even his shoes: Mbappé wanted everything from Cristiano Ronaldo", wrote "L'Equipe" about it.
On the Friday evening at Hamburg's Volksparkstadion, he can ask for it one more time. The former child ends the EURO career of his idol: That would be the material for the next big story about the two.
- Despite Kylian Mbappe's impressive performance, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin believes that "we need these faces" in European football, hinting at the future after Ronaldo and Messi's era.
- Portugal's left back Nuno Mendes, who once shared the dressing room with both Mbappe and Ronaldo at Paris Saint-Germain, stated that they are both incredible players.
- The European Football Championship (EM) quarterfinal between Portugal and France is a highly anticipated game, as it pits two superstars, Mbappe and Ronaldo, against each other.
- Ronaldo could potentially play his last European Championship game in this tournament, as he will be 39 by the next tournament in 2028.
- Real Madrid, Ronaldo's former club, is reportedly paying a significant transfer fee of 150 million euros for Mbappe's signature, indicating his importance to the club.
- Mbappe's transfer to Real Madrid has been widely discussed, and the "Royals" plan to present him to 80,000 fans with a grand spectacle on July 16.
- The French team has not showed much in this tournament, with Mbappe's two own goals and a converted penalty being their only significant contributions.
- Conversely, Ronaldo's presence in the Portuguese squad seems to hinder other talented players, with the captain playing in every game but failing to score a goal.
- Before the quarterfinals, Mbappe was featured in a large story by French sports newspaper "L'Equipe," which highlighted his admiration for Ronaldo, including his childhood memory of a Champions League game with Ronaldo's Real Madrid.
