World Cup 2022: Neville Names Player of the Tournament Between Mbappe and Messi

• Gary Neville has already decided on his player of the tournament at the ongoing FIFA 2022 World Cup
• However, the legendary defender had a tough choice to make between France's Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi of Argentina
• Both players have been in fantastic shape, with each scoring five times at the global football showpiece thus far

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has revealed his choice for the player of the tournament award between Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi.

The two Paris Saint-Germain stars are scheduled to come up against each other on Sunday, December 18, during the final of the tournament.

The final comes at a time both players are in fantastic shape, having scored five goals each so far in the competition.

However, Messi boasts a better GA than his club teammate after the Argentina international having four assists to his name already.

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Neville's player of the tournament?

While many understand Neville to be a huge fan of Cristiano Ronaldo, Daily Mail reports he settled on Messi as the player of the tournament in Qatar.

However, Neville's choice was not an easy one to make as he had to toss between Messi and Mbappe, who has equally enjoyed a fine run of form in the tournament.

"Mbappe has got some great players around him whereas the players around Messi are of a good standard but not at the same level," Neville opined in his Sky Sports column.

"Messi is nothing like the player he was 10 years ago obviously because of his age, but he's just delivering in one or two moments, unbelievable moments with an assist, a goal," he added.

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Dembele hails Messi ahead of World Cup final

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Ousmane Dembele has showered praise on Lionel Messi ahead of the impending 2022 World Cup final blockbuster between France and Argentina.

While Leo Messi has had a supremely impressive campaign in Qatar, Dembele's performance has slightly been below average for the defending champions.

Hailing the 35-year-old as an 'exceptional' player, Dembele also noted how Messi and Iniesta influenced his love for his current club FC Barcelona.