Cameroonian football icon Roger Milla said on Sunday that the gap between African players and their European and South American counterparts is rapidly closing as players such as Liverpool's duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane already feature among the world's elite footballers.
The duo was instrumental in Liverpool's Champions League winning campaign last term before helping the Reds clinch the Premier League for the first time in 30 years last week.
"In terms of individual talent, the gap between African players and players from Europe and South America is closing all the time," Milla told FIFA.com on Sunday.
However, he added that there is still a difference between the three continents in terms of the teams' levels, stressing on the role of the African stars to bring their experiences in Europe to their national teams.
"I think it’s on a team level that we have to keep on developing and it’s players like Mane and Salah who can bring their expertise to bear in that respect. They play for big clubs and they know how to bring a team together in pursuit of a shared objective," he said.
"In a few years there won’t be any difference between us and them. Learning from our mistakes and working together are two things that will help us to go even further."