Are Ronaldo, Messi still the largest World Cup draws, or is Mbappe bigger?

As the top sporting amusement successful the satellite begins adjacent week, each eyes volition beryllium connected football’s 2 household names of the past quarter-century: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo and Messi are not conscionable surviving legends – they are progressive legends, inactive playing astatine an elite modular for nine and country.

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For the past 5 World Cups, they person been the names connected everyone’s lips, but arsenic the 2026 tourney begins, has a caller player emerged to situation their mainstream entreaty with fans and brands alike?

The subordinate astir often mentioned successful that speech is sublimely talented Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe, who jumped consecutive into the 2 legends shoes arsenic 1 of the champion and astir recognisable stars successful Europe erstwhile they departed the continent to statesman caller shot chapters successful the Middle East (Ronaldo) and the United States (Messi).

Mbappe’s World Cup vocation arc has, successful immoderate ways, already surpassed the Ronaldo-Messi duo: World Cup victor astatine conscionable 19, Golden Boot victor astatine 23. In comparison, Messi was 35 erstwhile helium attained a World Cup trophy, and Ronaldo is yet to triumph one.

Now, with Ronaldo, 41, and Messi, 38, playing successful what is astir surely their past World Cup, has the popularity torch already been passed to Mbappe arsenic we participate the 2026 edition?

With the World Cup astir to footwear off, Al Jazeera Sport breaks down immoderate cardinal metrics to find who has much prima powerfulness heading into football’s planetary showpiece:

1. Which subordinate is selling retired the World Cup 2026 matches?

⚽ Advantage: Messi

Tickets to Messi’s Argentina radical signifier matches were the archetypal to beryllium wholly sold out.

FIFA said successful November that Argentina fans topped summons income earlier the archetypal authoritative release, ostensibly to spot Messi successful his swan opus and besides owed to his immense illustration successful the US arsenic the superstar of the home Major League Soccer (MLS).

Tickets to Mbappe’s France fixtures and Ronaldo’s Portugal radical signifier matches yet sold retired arsenic well, though resale sites specified arsenic Stubhub person listed tickets for the blockbuster Portugal vs Colombia lucifer successful Miami connected June 27 astatine a staggering $3,000-$12,000. Portugal’s different 2 radical signifier matches were listed successful 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

Lionel Messi’s instrumentality entreaty extends acold beyond his autochthonal Argentina [Marcos Brindicci/Getty Images]

2. World Cup stats: by the numbers

⚽ Advantage: Mbappe

Mbappe, 27, is the slightest experienced but is entering his 3rd World Cup arsenic statistically the astir proficient goal-scoring guardant of the trio – and by a ample margin.

He has already surpassed Ronaldo’s goals total, contempt playing 8 less matches and is lone 1 extremity down Messi.

The Argentinian has the astir assists with eight.

• Kylian Mbappe: 12 goals (0.86 goals per game), 5 assists successful 14 appearances (across 2 tournaments)
• Lionel Messi: 13 goals (0.5 goals per game), 8 assists successful 26 appearances (across 5 tournaments)
• Cristiano Ronaldo: 8 goals (0.36 goals per game), 2 assists successful 22 appearances (across 5 tournaments)

3. Who bash the fans hunt for globally?

⚽ Advantage: Ronaldo

Google revealed successful 2023 that Ronaldo had been the astir searched jock connected their level implicit the past 25 years. The Portuguese guardant has dominated the yearly database of astir Googled footballers much than 10 times – trailed mostly by Messi – and is besides the astir searched jock and shot player.

In beforehand of the 2026 World Cup, planetary information investigation has revealed that Ronaldo continues to beryllium the number-one searched footballer based connected net hunt volumes, according to Hobbs Independent, an online work and quality portal that covers a wide scope of planetary topics.

Ronaldo’s 10,156,667 mean monthly searches successful 2026 was much than treble immoderate different footballer. Messi (3,276,667) and Mbappe (3,132,500) were statistically adjacent successful 3rd and fourth, respectively, down Neymar Jr (5,066,667).

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo is fashionable connected and disconnected the tract [File: Armando Franca/AP]

4. Who earns the astir money?

⚽ Advantage: Ronaldo

Ronaldo inactive sits caput and shoulders supra his counterparts erstwhile it comes to yearly income. The 40-year-old was the highest-paid jock successful the satellite successful 2025, earning a whopping $280m annually, according to reporting by Forbes Magazine.

Approximately $230m of that comes from his declaration with nine broadside Al-Nassr, whom helium helped pb to the Saudi Pro League rubric past month. The different $50m comes from marque endorsements that see Nike, Binance, Herbalife, Whoop, and a idiosyncratic portfolio of investments.

Messi is next-best with $120m; $50m successful salary, but helium surpassed his large Portuguese rival successful 2025 off-field endorsements astatine $70m.

Mbappe’s full net are the lowest of the trio astatine $95m. The Frenchman’s $70m Real Madrid wage makes him the highest paid footballer successful Europe, but his $25m off-field net – which see marque endorsements with Nike, Hublot, and Dior, among others – places him a agelong mode down Ronaldo and Messi, according to Forbes’ calculations.

⚽ Advantage: Ronaldo

Once again, Ronaldo tops the database erstwhile it comes to societal media clout.

He is the astir followed jock connected Instagram with 664 cardinal followers. Messi trails with 506 million, portion Mbappe is simply a distant 3rd astatine 130 million.

Ronaldo besides became the archetypal idiosyncratic successful past to surpass 1 cardinal followers connected societal media crossed each large platforms successful September 2024.

“This is much than conscionable a fig – it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and emotion for the crippled and beyond,” helium wrote successful a post connected Instagram pursuing the milestone.

“From the streets of Madeira to the biggest stages successful the world, I’ve ever played for my household and for you, and present 1 cardinal of america basal together.”

6. Who has the champion regular play statistics?

⚽ Advantage: Mbappe

This metric is an casual triumph for the Frenchman.

Mbappe is the lone 1 of the 3 superstars who inactive plays for a premier nine successful Europe and is regarded by galore arsenic the top striker successful Europe, if not the world.

The Real Madrid talisman was the starring extremity scorer for the 2025–26 La Liga season, claiming the Pichichi trophy with 25 goals from 32 appearances. In 2024-25, helium besides led the Spanish Primera part by scoring 31 goals successful 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 owed to the acold higher level of contention and extent successful La Liga versus the Saudi Pro League (Ronaldo) and Major League Soccer (Messi).

For the record, Messi scored 29 goals successful league play for Inter Miami successful 2024-25, earning the MLS Golden Boot and MVP grant for the season. Ronaldo scored 28 goals successful 30 appearances for Al-Nassr successful the 2025–26 Saudi Pro League season.

7. Who is the astir marketable prima close now?

⚽ Advantage: Mbappe

Mbappe has 2 wide advantages implicit Ronaldo and Messi erstwhile it comes to the taxable of who generates the astir commercialized worth for sponsors close now.

First, the Frenchman plays for the world’s richest club, Real Madrid, and participates successful a contention that consistently ranks arsenic the second-highest earning shot league globally, bringing successful much than 5.4 cardinal euros ($6.28bn) successful full normalised revenue.

Second, his superlative goal-scoring exploits successful La Liga are broadcast to a acold wider planetary assemblage erstwhile compared with thing Ronaldo does successful Saudi Arabia oregon Messi achieves successful the US league.

As for the comparative marketability of the 3 icons of the crippled successful 2026, that whitethorn good beryllium decided by which of their teams tin spell each the mode and triumph the World Cup for their federation connected July 19.

The FIFA World Cup begins connected June 11. You tin travel the enactment connected Al Jazeera’s dedicated World Cup 2026 page with each the latest news, lucifer build-up and unrecorded substance commentary, and support up to day with radical standings, real-time lucifer results and schedules.

Mbappe volition go adjacent much fashionable connected a planetary signifier if helium delivers a 2nd FIFA World Cup trophy for France successful 8 years [Franck Fife/AFP]