The living Argentine legend, Lionel Messi, wrote a new line in his immortal story that will be told by future generations, after he led his country to achieve the World Cup title in the Arab version that was held on Qatari soil, and added the title to many individual and collective awards that he won throughout his career. , to prove to the world once again that he is the best in history.
He is "the best player in history", a "genius", and "from outside this planet", this is how football stars see the Argentine captain, the best player in the world 7 times, Lionel Messi, who led his country to crown the world title, and this is how he was also described by giants and celebrities. On various occasions, and we collect their opinions in the following historical testimonies:
Messi's joy in winning the World Cup in Qatar (Reuters)
Cristiano Ronaldo
In an interview with Piers Morgan on November 17, Ronaldo, who was a rival to Messi when the first defended the colors of Real Madrid and the second of the colors of Barcelona, said, “He is an amazing player, a magician … We shared the scene for 16 years. Imagine, 16 years! So! Of course, I have an excellent relationship with him."
He continued, "A man I really respect, the way he always talks about me, his wife and my wife are friends, they respect each other a lot, they are from Argentina, what can I say about Messi? An amazing man who does wonderful things in football."
Josep Guardiola
In an interview conducted on April 12 with the South American channel "Telemundo Deportes", Josep Guardiola - former Messi coach at FC Barcelona (2008-2012) - said - "What does Leo represent in my career? Everything, everything, everything I felt what Phil Jackson felt with Michael Jordan (world basketball stars), because Leo Messi was with me, there are very few people who control their sport so easily, without him, we would have won too, but by this much? Impossible, for a cup The world, I hope he is in good physical condition, trains well and arrives strong."
And in 2012, Guardiola said, "I am sorry for those who are trying to remove him from the throne. We are in front of the best player in all respects, who can do everything, every day."
The late Argentine star Diego Maradona (Al Jazeera)
The late Diego Maradona
The Argentine legend and former coach of the national team said in 2010, "Now, I know who the player who will replace me in football is Lionel Messi. He has something different from other players. He is a leader and an example to follow."
Gerard Pique
A former colleague of Messi in Barcelona (2008-2021) said on March 25 - in an interview with the "The Players Tribune" platform - that "people often ask me how Messi has been throughout these years. If you want to explain the matter in one sentence, I will say: He is Alien, not from this planet, he's the only player that when I saw him play for the first time at the age of 13, I said to myself: Oh, this boy is not human, he is deadly, he is the best I have ever seen in my entire life.
He continued, "What makes him so good is that he is not interested in showing off, he rarely makes individual shots, his greatness lies in his obsession with possession of the ball, what is not visible perhaps on television, and can be seen on the field is his face when he runs to take the ball from a defender, when he I think of Messi's charm, it's not something that can be found on YouTube, it's a sensitive expression in his eyes, to explain his greatness, I need 5,000 words."
Mario Balotelli
The Italian star said in 2019: There is only one person who is slightly better than me;
His name is Lionel Messi.
Samuel Eto'o
Messi's former Barcelona teammate (2004-2009) said in 2010: "There is only one god of football, and that is Messi."
Messi lifts the World Cup in traditional Qatari dress (French)
Neymar
Messi's current colleague in Paris Saint-Germain and formerly in Barcelona, he said last September: "Messi is an amazing player, a genius, he is also off the field, it is an honor for me to play alongside him."
Brazilian Ronaldo
Former Brazilian star Ronaldo said in 2012: "Messi is great, he is an excellent player, but he will only become a legend when he shows his true colors with Argentina and wins the World Cup."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
He said in 2010: "Messi is a PlayStation player, how does he do what he does? I don't know, but he is unique and wonderful."
Xavi Hernandez
The Spanish star, who played alongside Messi at Barcelona from 2004 to 2015, said in 2010: "He's the number one. He's the type of player who appears only once every 30 years."
Late Cuban leader Fidel Castro
"He looks like lightning and with his feet or his head, he hits the ball with incredible speed," he said in 2010.
Rafael Nadal
The Spanish tennis star said in 2011: "Messi is the best player I've ever seen."
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He said in 2016, "I was talking to (former Brazilian soccer star) Ronaldinho who was a close friend, and he said to me: 'Kobe, listen, I'm going to introduce you to the man who's going to be the greatest player of all time.' Here he will be the best. That young man was Lionel Messi, who was only 17 years old at the time.”
Barack Obama
The former US president said in 2016, saying: "My two daughters know Pope Francis, and now they want to get to know Messi, but I could not manage that."
