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It seems like forever that the debate has been raging over who is better: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?
That debate may now be cooling, perhaps in Ronaldo's favour, after a glut of Champions League titles and the elusive Euro win for Portugal.
While Messi continues to bag goals aplenty in domestic football, Barcelona's deposing as top dog in Europe and Argentina's struggles saw his light dim ever so slightly.
But while the Portuguese and Argentine have battled it out for the title of 'world's best footballer', other contenders have emerged to show they're ready to take the mantle when age finally catches up with the Real Madrid and Barcelona icons.
With three of those contenders helping lead their teams to spots in the Champions League last four, and another looking to break free from team-mate Messi's shadow, here are the leading lights to take over world football in the coming seasons.
Neymar
If you're Brazil's best player, you're going to get mentioned in lists like these. Neymar, 25, has had a unique place in Brazilian football for most of his young career, being head and shoulders above his compatriots in a relatively lean spell for the nation.
That dry period of course ended as recently as the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, when Neymar helped Brazil to its first-ever Olympic gold, sealing his spot as an all-time icon of the game for the football-mad nation.
If tricks and flicks are your bag, Neymar will never disappoint, and you can expect him to be a regular Puskas Award contender, after his overhead flick-up-and-volley cracker against Villareal last season earned him a nomination for FIFA's goal of the year.
On track to slot home in excess of 50 goals for club and country this season, Neymar is breathing down team-mate Lionel Messi's neck for 'world's best' contention, starring in Barcelona's fabulous front three, which also includes the razor-sharp Luis Suarez.
Paulo Dybala
An agile, technically brilliant player, Dybala has the rare pleasure of being an Argentine with searing ability who is not automatically being compared to Diego Maradona.
Thankfully, Messi gets the weight of that burden, while Dybala continues to impress for Juventus. The Old Lady has reached yet another Champions League semi-final, and they've done it while shedding a host of important players that got them to the 2015 decider. Dybala has been key to the transition.
A scorer of great goals rather than a great goalscorer — Dybala has scored just 13 and assisted six this season so far for Juventus — Dybala is a frightening player to contend with on the counter-attack thanks to his fantastic pace, low centre of gravity and close control.
The mark of every great player is how they fare on the big occasion, and it is here where Dybala blossoms. A brace against Barcelona, and goals against Porto, Milan, Lazio and Tottenham this season are testament to that.
Dybala has years on his side to start compiling 20-goal seasons, but he's almost guaranteed a spot in teams with top-tier players — both internationally and domestically — to assure he fulfils his potential.
Antoine Griezmann
French football's jewel in the crown, Antoine Griezmann has gone from strength to strength in successive seasons, terrorising defences both on the flanks and through the middle.
Griezmann's all-round attacking ability was perfectly showcased in the 2016 Euros, switching from his previously favoured left-wing role to an advanced forward position, becoming France's attacking focus as the hosts raced to the tournament final.
He has been a major factor in Atletico Madrid's rise from Spain's middling also-rans to a genuine Champions League power, scoring more than 30 goals for club and country this season.
Links to major clubs including Manchester United refuse to go away, but such has been Atletico's rise that you wouldn't bet against Griezmann remaining at the Vicente Calderon, cementing himself as a legend in the Spanish capital.
Kylian Mbappe
What's that? Two Frenchmen in a list of four? Things are boding well for France ahead of the 2018 World Cup with this collection of weapons, with Kylian Mbappe rapidly emerging as the world's most in-demand striker.
At just 18 years of age, Mbappe is already a feared finisher in front of goal, and is no deer in the headlights when it comes to the big occasion. Regularly scoring when it matters, he has scored in all four of Monaco's knock-out round Champions League fixtures this season.
Comparisons with past players can often be misleading, but Mbappe's similarities to former France striker Thierry Henry are uncanny. Full of pace, with a penchant for motoring down the left flank before cutting in on his right foot, Mbappe has the same verve and casual finish as the former Arsenal, Barcelona and Monaco forward.
Whether he stays at Monaco is the big question — the world's biggest clubs will all be keen to see the Frenchman on their books, with the wonderkid surely set to blossom into a formidable spearhead for years to come.
Topics: champions-league, soccer, sport, spain, monaco, italy, france