Cristiano Ronaldo has backed Lamine Yamal and Jude Bellingham to be generation-defining talents in the future.
The pair, who represent El Clasico rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid, are already seen as two of the top players in the world at the tender ages of 17 and 21 respectively, having dazzled at both club and international level.
Just how far Yamal and Bellingham can go remains to be seen, but Ronaldo believes the young stars will reach the very top of football if fate is kind to them.
Beginning with Yamal, Ronaldo told his YouTube channel: “I see huge potential and great talent. He needs luck, because he is very young. I hope he doesn’t get any problems.
“He has competition that helps him a lot. The Spain national team is really, really good, and I think he has huge potential. Let’s see what’s going to happen. I believe he’s going to be one of the best players for this new generation.”
Keen to show some praise for Bellingham as well, Ronaldo admitted moving to Madrid this summer helped the England international take his game to the next level.
“Huge potential,” Ronaldo said of Bellingham. “Huge talent.
“He’s come to the club when the environment was clean, was good, and he’s grown like the other ones, like [Eduardo] Camavinga, Rodrygo, Vinicius…He’s in a team that helps him to be a top player and I also believe he’ll be one of the best of the next generation.”
Yamal and Bellingham are slated to butt heads on October 26, when Barcelona travel to the Santiago Bernabeu to face Madrid.
