Barcelona Tipped To Sign 'Next Top Player After Lionel Messi', Kylian Mbappe

Having his sights set on the future, former FC Barcelona superstar Samuel Eto’o wants the Catalan club to build a team around Borussia Dortmund wonderkid Youssoufa Moukoko and Paris Saint-Germain talisman Kylian Mbappe.

Eto’o has been one of the Barca all-time greats who have been vocal about his thoughts on the future of his beloved club.

In a recent exclusive interview with Goal, the 2006 Pichichi Trophy winner was asked to name a player who could be Barcelona’s next big signing.

According to Eto’o, the Catalans should pursue Dortmund goalscorer Moukoko as he believes the teenager is the next best player after Lionel Messi and could also be the Argentine’s heir.

“[There’s] a young player who plays for Dortmund called Youssoufa Moukoko,” he said. “[He’s] 15 years of age, and he’s the next top player, for me, after [Lionel] Messi. As Messi gets older, we could prepare the future of Barcelona very well.”

The 39-year-old has also envisioned an unstoppable Barcelona attacking force composed of Moukoko and two of France’s best players at present, Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.

“With Antoine [Griezmann] and Youssoufa [up front together], that team would go forward very well,” he stated. “[I’d like to see] Kylian Mbappe at Barcelona also.”

Moukoko has been touted as Dortmund’s future superstar. In fact, the German side has already included him in the first team ahead of his eligibility on Nov. 20, when he finally turns 16.

The teenager, dubbed by some as the “African Messi” because of his incredible nose for goals which resembles that of a young “Leo,” has started training with the Dortmund seniors in August.

Furthermore, he was given the No. 18 shirt by Dortmund’s coach Lucien Favre on Sept. 18.

Mbappe, on the other hand, is currently on Barca’s radar as the club’s presidential candidates are keen to make a move for the PSG superstar.

Meanwhile, another youngster has recently made his debut for the Barcelona B team. Barca Academy rising star Ilias Akhomach impressed in his brief pitch appearance earlier this month in a friendly against Cornella at the Johan Cruyff Stadium.

Like Moukoko, Akhomach is also likened to the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.

La Masia director and former Barcelona player Patrick Kluivert once said that the 16-year-old is undeniably on his path to becoming the “New Messi.”

"He is the Messi who is coming," Kluivert said of Akhomach in an interview in 2019. "What's more, he is already somewhat similar. He is left-handed and his agent is Horacio Gaggioli, the representative who brought Messi to Barcelona."