Gabriel Jesus Can Follow Lionel Messi, Neymar as World's Best, Says Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho believes Manchester City star Gabriel Jesus will one day take over from Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and Neymar as the world's best player.

Per the Mirror's David Anderson, the Brazil legend was full of praise for his compatriot:

"

Manchester City have a very special player with Gabriel Jesus. Maybe even, in the future, the best player in the world.

At the moment it is Messi. I have always said I think one day it will be Neymar. But at 19, in the future, it can be Gabriel. He has all the abilities to make that happen.

"

Jesus arrived at City in January and has already displaced Sergio Aguero in the starting lineup, notching three goals and two assists in his first four appearances for the club.

Ronaldinho also hailed Jesus for having "no fear at all," and he expects the youngster to put in "big performances" against the Premier League's elite sides.

The former Barcelona star added he believes Jesus should play for City in the UEFA Champions League also: "Ronaldo, Kaka, myself and, more recently, Neymar were playing at the highest level at a young age. Gabriel is in that ­category."

Jesus, 19, netted 28 goals in two seasons for Palmeiras and has already scored five goals for Brazil in six appearances having made his senior debut in September. He also netted three times to help the Selecao win gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Premier League hailed Jesus' electric start in the competition:

Indeed, after grabbing a goal and an assist against West Ham United in his first start for the club, he then netted both goals in City's 2-1 win over Swansea City.

EA Sports FIFA shared the dramatic injury-time winner against the Swans after Gylfi Sigurdsson had cancelled out his opener:

The forward has had an instant impact at the Etihad Stadium, not only for his goal and assist contributions but also to City's all-round play.

Grup 14's Sergi Dominguez noted as much while hailing his abilities:

Along with his impressive work rate and stamina, Jesus looks to have all the attributes to become a world-class forward in the future as he continues to hone his game.

With matches against Bournemouth—who have shipped 34 goals in their last 13 games—on Monday and Championship side Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup on Saturday, Jesus will likely have plenty more opportunities to build on his excellent start with City.

His first major test with the club will come against Monaco in the Champions League—the French side have scored 75 goals in 25 Ligue 1 games this season—while in March and April, the Sky Blues face Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea in succession.

It's still early days, of course, and Jesus has a long way to go before he reaches Messi or Neymar's level. The former is 29 and the latter 25, though, so there's plenty of time for Jesus to do so if he continues to develop as he has done.