How come this man has reached legend status yet. IMO he's better than Pele and Maradona combined. Why do they not acknowledge this? Is it because he hasn't gotten a world cup yet? That really doesn't matter if he's breaking records left and right.
Cassano (Milan) - "Wasn't happy with Madrid winning Liga, prefer Barça. They have the best player in history and watching them is great fun!"
Ivan Helguera*(ex-Real Madrid) - "For me, Messi is the best player in history,"
Mircea Lucescu*- "I don't think there ever has been or will be a phenomenon like Messi. He's even better than Pele."
Domenico Criscito*- "Messi = alien of football!! An extraordinary player.. The best of all times!"
Ferrer (ex-Barcelona -Chelsea): "I played with Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Laudrup and Stoichkov but Messi is the best I've seen"*
Osvaldo Ardiles - "There is a natural evolution and players today are just getting better. Messi is by far the best."
Osvaldo Ardiles - "I played with Maradona for 7 years. I thought I'd never see another player like that but I have to say Messi is better."
Bernd Schuster*(1xSilver Ball, 2xBronze ball) - "Messi is the best player I have seen in my life."
Gary Neville*- "Playing without striker allows Messi, greatest player of modern times and arguably all-time, to find weakest link in any defence."
Ray Hudson: - "Greatest football player I've ever seen, and certainly one of the most fabulous footballers in the history of the game, in my opinion, the greatest ever."
John Terry: - “My kids love him. They both have Barcelona shirts with his name on the back and they like the fact I swapped shirts with him after one of our previous games… It’s a pleasure because when you finish and look back – and the guy’s still going to be going strong – you’ve tested yourself against the best. And, quite clearly for me, he’s the best ever. He’s a great individual, a great person as well and a credit to the sport. For me, he’s got everything. He is magical. “
Adriano Galliani (vice-president Milan):*"Messi is the best player ever. And this is said by someone who has seen Maradona and Pele play."
Gary LINEKER: “Fella’s a genius! Best ever by a distance in my life time! Never really saw Pele [...] Wait til he grows up! SOUNESS, GULLIT, VENABLES and now ROONEY agree MESSI is the best they have seen. He plays a game to which we are not familiar.”
Tom Huddlestone - ”Is messi the best ever?? Best I've seen”
Arsene Wenger – Who's the best player in the world? ”Lionel Messi.” Who's the best player of all time? ”Lionel Messi.”
Roy Keane (ex-ManUtd): "I was a big fan of Maradona growing up and of the current crop Ronaldo is good, but Messi is the best I've ever seen"
Mike Gibbons. - "Messi is Maradona meets Gerd Muller."
Rudi Voller: ”Messi is now in the same league as Pele and Maradona”
WayneRooney ”Messi is a joke. For me the best ever. ”
Michael Owen ”Not old enough to see some of the greats but I can't believe anyone can have played the game of football as well as Messi. ”
Jose Luis Chilavert*- "Messi is the best, he is better than Maradona," he affirmed. "At Messi's age, Maradona had not won not even 1 percent of what Messi has won."
Ossie Ardiles -*“I think he’s certainly the best player of his generation. And I definitely believe not only that but he’s the best player in the history of football. To be perfectly honest, I thought I would never encounter anybody in the same league because Diego was a genius. One of the reasons I think Messi is better than Maradona and Pelé is evolution. People before say Pelé was running 5,000, 6,000 meters. Now they are running 9,000 meters. Now players eat better, train better, the pitches are better. So this is why I believe Messi is the very best ever.”
Ray Hudson*(on Messi) - "The most complete footballista I've ever seen."
Carlos Bianchi*- Barcelona's Lionel Messi is better than Diego Maradona and Pele
"A few days ago I did a talk for a business and a Brazilian asked me in the middle of the conference who I considered the best footballer in history, Maradona or Pele. I answered that, with all due respect to those two, right now I see Messi as superior to everyone,"
"There have been excellent footballers that weren't able to play in great national teams to prove their class. Moving on from everything that has happened or will happen when he puts on the Argentina jersey, Messi confirms every week that he is capable of doing things that nobody else has managed in the history of football."
Ossie Ardiles - “I would now say that Lionel Messi will go down in history as the No.1 player of all time, the best that there ever was,"
Graeme Souness - "I think he might be the best player that has ever played the game, given that he's 23... He's best around, and I've played against Maradona many times, some people say that Maradona was better, but I disagree.
Small sample.
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And my personal favourite quote on the hatrick against malaga, MAL 1-4 BAR.
Gerry Armstrong (on Messi) - "I know what it's like to score against Barcelona, but end up losing 4-1. My first goal in Spanish league was against Barcelona. Unfortunately a certain Diego Maradona was in the side for Barcelona and he just took control and they beat us 4-1.
Look at this little man, well, I think he's better than Maradona, I think he better than anybody I've ever seen."
