Ronaldo and Messi have been competing against each other for every goal, individual and collective title record over the past 10 years. They even took turns dominating the Golden Ball from 2008, until Luka Modric finished first in France Football magazine’s poll in 2018. After that, Messi won the 2019, 2021, 2023 Golden Ball and became the top player. Eight-time winner of the world’s most prestigious individual award.

For many years, experts have said that in the future Haaland and Mbappe will be a new pair of rivals in football. However, in the Spanish newspaper Marca recently, when asked if Mbappe and Haaland were the two players best suited to take over the positions of Messi and Ronaldo, Capello replied: “No, no. It will be Mbappe and Bellingham. For me, the two players who will fight like Messi and Ronaldo did are Mbappe and Bellingham.”

Bellingham is currently playing for Real, after moving from Dortmund for 110 million USD in the summer of 2023. The English midfielder is making a strong impression when leading the La Liga top scorer list with 14 goals, including a double in the comeback win. 2-1 right on Barca’s field in La Liga. He also contributed four goals and three assists through five matches in the Champions League group stage. Bellingham is also the owner of the title “Golden Boy” 2023.

According to the valuation of CIES Sports Research Center, Bellingham is currently worth about 293 million USD – the highest in the world. Haaland ranked second with 275 million USD.

“Bellingham is a complete player, knows how to do everything,” Capello praised the England international. “Bellingham plays at a very high level and has great quality. There are players who are complete but at an average or high level, but Bellingham is complete at a very high level, capable of making a difference. He does things you can’t imagine. Some passes and movements performed by Bellingham were very unique.”

In 2023, Messi played 37 matches, scored 26 goals and assisted 12 times for PSG, Argentina and Inter Miami. The Argentine star and PSG won Ligue 1, helping Inter Miami win the Leagues Cup – the first title in the club’s history. Despite a lot of controversy, he still won the race for FIFA’s best male player of 2023 – which was predicted to belong to Haaland.

Meanwhile, at the age of 38, Ronaldo is the player with the most goals in 2023 with 54 goals. Behind the Portuguese striker are Harry Kane and Mbappe with the same 52 goals, while Haaland ends 2023 with 50 goals. “Ronaldo is a machine whose fuel is goals. That is Ronaldo’s talent and helps him continue to explode even as the years pass,” Capello praised.

Capello is one of the most successful coaches in European football history. He won four Serie A, one Champions League with AC Milan, one Serie A with AS Roma and two La Liga with Real. He retired in 2018, at the age of 72, after leading Jiangsu, China.