The former Spanish midfielder believes that the player is more than capable his ex-teammate's big shoes.

Former Barcelona skipper and club legend Xavi Hernandez has admitted that Manchester City's Raheem Sterling is on course to succeed his former teammate Lionel Messi as the best player in the world. The ex-Spanish international insists that the future of football is in safe hands when the Argentine superstar and Cristiano Ronaldo retire considering the trajectory the English winger is currently on.

Raheem Sterling currently ranks as one of football's biggest stars taking into consideration how influential he has been for Pep Guariola's Manchester City side in recent years. Last season, the 24-year-old winger ended the Citizen's historic campaign with a cumulative 47 goals and assists across all competitions.

According to Xavi, the former Liverpool prodigy's prowess is currently unmatched by any player on the planet and could, as a result, go all the way to become the best in the world soon.

"Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the best player in the world awards for so many years now, it's hard to remember a time before them," he said as per Mirror UK.

"Messi is the best ever for me - and even though they're both still playing at a very high level - there will come the day not so long away when somebody else must step into those shoes.

"You look at young players who can be crowned the future best in the world and you still think of Neymar, Mbappe, Salah, and of course Sterling. I look at the moment - and Sterling is winning that race.

"He's always been a good player, a dangerous player, but under Pep he become one of the best in the world.

"I know how Pep works - he would have worked closely with him since his arrival - where he needs to improve and what he needed to work on.

"We're now seeing the results of that - he's still young and can be the world's best."

Raheem Sterling has already picked up from where he left things last season as he has managed six goals in the new campaign.