Heraclitus once believed that change is constant and will happen no matter what anyone tries to do.
Change is a normal occurrence in our everyday lives with no exceptions to any field of work and in the world of football, we see a lot of it happen time and time again.
Slowly, we moved from the Johan Cruyff, Pele, and Maradona era to the Golden age of Zidane, Ronaldo Nazarro, and Ronaldinho, down to the Generation defining the age of Messi, Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Modric, Kroos, Salah, Casemiro, Suarez, Neymar, Iniesta, Xavi and many more.
And now, it seems like we are once again, slowly but surely moving to the next generation of superstars.
With every one of this era of players either past their prime, close to their time, or out of Europe, the farm of football has taken it upon itself once again to harvest more talents to make the game some good fill and so far so good, there hasn't been much disappointment.
Sure, it will be hard for the individuals who grew up watching these players since the early 2000s to let go of them but eventually, they will have to warm up to the new crop of talents that have been produced.
We have already gotten two stars that are been groomed to be the next successors of Messi-Ronaldo: Kylian Mbappe and Erling Braut Haaland.
These two are far apart and are on par in some ways, almost the same as the two GOATS but comparing them to those two right now or ever would seem like a slap on their face, so let's focus on their stats instead.
Both are clinical individuals who have everything needed for a player to be successful in the sport.
Among the two, Mbappe is considered for now, the better as he is not just the all-time top scorer for PSG but has also been to back-to-back World Cup finals, winning one and scoring a hattrick in one, all this before the age of 26!!!!
He is blessed with the gift of speed, tenacity, skills, and most importantly, finishing.
His rival from Norway has a decent shout to himself too.
Though he hasn't hit the same height as Mbappe on the international stages, Erling sure is killing it for the club.
In his first season at Manchester City, he scored 52 goals in 54 goals, winning the Champions League, fa cup, and Premier League, all in one season.
Including individual awards, Erling has also won the UEFA Super Cup and it sure looks like he is not ready to slow down.
All this before hitting the age of 24.
Just like Kylian, Haaland also has an incredible finishing ability, coupled with an imposing physique and pace to go along with it.
To top it all off, both finished in the top 3 list of ballon d'or rankings, so the future is indeed bright.
From the groomed successors of Messi-Ronaldo to the supposed replacements for Barcelona legends Xavi and Iniesta, players Pedri and Gavi have been impressing in La Liga for the Catalan side, both already a golden boy winners.
Pedri is known for his calm attitude on the pitch and his composure on the ball, able to detect opponents and distribute incredible passes.
Gavi on the other hand, is an aggressive yet dependable player who will put everything on the line to help his team get the win.
Just like Gavi, other La Masia graduates like Balde, Fermin, and Lamine Yamal make their name in La Liga.
Speaking of La Liga, Real Madrid's newboy Jude Bellingham has impressed so much with his technical abilities and his finishing sense.
As a primarily center midfielder, Jude has already accumulated 13 goals in 13 matches, settling well with Carlo Ancelotti's new diamond formation, with him as one of the driving forces alongside other extraordinary talents like Vini Jr and Rodrygo.
Then, we have Jamal Musiala in Bayern Munich who is lighting up the Bundesliga every single matchday, and Julian Alvarez, who has won everything there is to win at club and international level.
Between 2022 and 2023, this guy became a World Cup winner, FA Cup winner, Copa America winner, Premier League winner, UEFA Super Cup winner, Liga winner, and so many individual awards.
People heap praise on Messi in Argentina and Haaland in Manchester City, but Julian deserves his flowers too because if we look at it in another way, the team wouldn't have accomplished much if he wasn't there at that time.
Other beautiful young talents are too many to mention because if we had to, this would become a full documentary.
So, my fellow football lovers, no matter what happens to our childhood heroes, just know that football itself has got us covered completely, and hopefully, they won't disappoint.
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