The Prophet ﷺ said, "The best of you are my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them."
قال النبي ﷺ: خيركم قرني ثم الذين يلونهم، ثم الذين يلونهم.
No references are available.
Bukhari narrated it in "Testimonies" (2651) and Muslim in "The Virtues of the Companions" (2535), both from the hadith of Shubah, who said, Abu Hamza narrated to us, who said, Zahdam bin Mudarrib narrated to me, who said, I heard Imran bin Husayn, and he mentioned it.