Jorge Valdano: Next Lionel Messi Will Be More Superhuman Like Cristiano Ronaldo

Former Real Madrid striker Jorge Valdano has dubbed Lionel Messi a "miracle" and said football's next genius talent will be "more physically superhuman" like Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Valdano, 64, told Tiempo (h/t Goal's Peter Lynch) Messi "has the power of a hero, of a superstar," one who was in part moulded by his background playing in the streets of his native Argentina. 

The ex-Argentina forward—who also managed Real between 1994 and 1996—identified the importance that experience had in shaping Messi, though he predicted football is changing in that regard:

"Messi is a formative miracle: He owes his gifts to both the streets and the academy. Until the age of 13 he grew up in Argentina, with a more informal education, then moved to Barcelona where he learned to play attractive football—but it was much more formal.

"The streets have disappeared from training schools for football players. In South America, there are still areas of poverty where football continues to reign.

"The next Messi will be more similar to Cristiano Ronaldo than Messi, more physically superhuman, more competitive, just as heroic, but cut from a different cloth."

Juventus ace Ronaldo, 35, was born in Madeira, Portugal, and joined the academy of Sporting CP aged 12. He played a single season of senior football for the club before he joined Manchester United in 2003.

It's this kind of pathway that 1986 FIFA World Cup-winner Valdano considers more plausible for the next footballing icon, and players with backgrounds like Messi will perhaps be less likely to thrive.

Messi, 32, sealed a record sixth Ballon d'Or in December to again move clear of five-time winner Ronaldo, though the latter appears to have used that result as motivation to avoid a repeat in 2020, per ESPN FC:

On Messi's talent, Valdano added: 

"Then, on the pitch, he has the power to imbalance any side. He has decided three of the last four results with his devastating influence. He has become more mature and more aware of his power.

"There is only one Messi. It's hard to know what will come after him. Taking into consideration that a genius is born every 15 or 20 years, the next one will have a more academic background."

Messi—the top scorer in La Liga this season with 14 goals—assisted each of Barcelona's three goals on Sunday when they twice came from behind to win 3-2 at Real Betis:

He has 11 league assists this season—another leading figure in La Liga—and became the second player in Europe's top five leagues this term to record double-digit goals and assists (after Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho):

Many might have considered Neymar as heir apparent to world football's throne in the past, but those prospects have diminished since he joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 for a world-record €222 million.

Now 28, Neymar hasn't attained quite the superstardom it appeared he sought when leaving the Camp Nou, where he finished in the top five of the Ballon d'Or vote three straight years between 2015 and 2017 (two third-place finishes).

Rory Smith of the New York Times chronicled his downward slope in Paris, and Squawka's Muhammad Butt appeared to suggest 21-year-old Kylian Mbappe has moved ahead of his attacking team-mate:

Mbappe won the 2018 FIFA World Cup and has finished among the top seven of the past three Ballon d'Or votes, reaching fourth in 2018 despite being only 19 at the time.

The Paris Saint-Germain speedster fits Valdano's bill as a physical phenomenon, though fans may not truly recognise an heir to the throne until both Messi and Ronaldo cease their remarkable exploits at the top.