Pep Guardiola
“Put in the superlatives yourselves, I’m running out. It’s already been a while now that he has been outstanding. He’s more than decisive in every way. That he’s capable of doing everything that he does at his age is something impressive, that doesn’t make any sense.
“The best players are always in the thick of the action. (Michael) Jordan did it with the Bulls, (Kobe) Bryant does it with the Lakers and Leo does it here. We want him to stay with us because he’s the best and we wouldn’t swap him for anyone.”
“Messi is an irreplaceable player, today if he was here we would have won 5-0 but he was not and we had to play another in his place.”
Fabio Capello
"Ronaldo is very good, Messi is brilliant. No one in the world has the talent that Messi has”
Frank Rijkaard
“He’s a unique player and he deserves it, because he can do things of almost imperceptible excellence and is a gem to watch.”
Johann Cruyff
“He deserves ten out of ten for doing what he does. He is a sensation, but still he can improve. He must know when to move the ball on quickly and when to try the impossible mission. When he learns this, he won’t win a single Golden Ball, but an entire collection.”
Luis Figo
"For me, to watch Messi play is a pleasure – it's like having an orgasm – it's an incredible pleasure."
“This is an individual trophy and Messi is the best. He won despite the fact that both Xavi and Iniesta had done very well this year.I am not surprised that they elected Messi. I think that Xavi and Iniesta have deserved to win, but Messi is a player who is above everyone.”
Carlos Tevez
“His speed is astonishing. It’s amazing how he can go 1 to 100 in just one second. I’m constantly around great players like Cristiano and Rooney, But this guy is just a step up above every other great footballer out there at the moment, Not only is he quick, determined, and extremely intelligent on the ball, but his movement off the ball is just as fantastic – unbelievable to sum it up in a word.”
Juan Sebastian Veron
“I see Maradona every time he grabs the ball and accelerates. We must protect him. I’d personally put him in a drawer of my bedside table.”
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
“Nobody was so wonderful at 19 years, neither Pele nor Maradona.”
Gilberto
“Messi’s plaudits are hard to accept, we play in other countries and we do not see the local fans supporting our players there. Over 40 thousand Brazilians applauded, and that’s hard for who is on the field. When I see them applauding Messi I get annoyed.”
Julio Grondona
“Without Messi there isn’t a team for Argentina, Messi is brilliant, different, with a strong mentality. Let’s hope he doesn’t change.”
Paolo Maldini
“When I see Messi play, in my opinion, he should win the Ballon d'Or every year. He is an unbelievable player.
Antonio Cassano
“Ronaldinho is better than Cristiano Ronaldo, but neither are as good as Leo Messi.”
Sergio Aguero
“Nowadays, Messi is better than Ronaldinho. He is the best footballer in the world right now. And I’m not the only who says so. Everyone who has seen him play says so too.”
Pele
“I knew when we gave Kaka the FIFA World Player of the Year award that he (messi) would become the best player in the world. With young people like him we need patience and that is the problem we have in Brazil.”
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
“When I see Messi – who is the best player in the world in my opinion – lose the ball, he runs off until he gets it back or commits a foul. Our guys lose the ball and fold their arms.”
Juan Laporta
“This year at Barcelona team spirit is dominating but players like Messi show there is individuality too. He is a virtuoso player who is determined and fast with the ball at his feet….he is a mixture of Maradona and Cruyff.”
Ossie Ardiles
"Messi is out of this planet, I would say he is so far ahead of the rest of the players playing right now and I would say historically as well. There are not words to describe him.
Hristo Stoichkov
"Once they said they can only stop me with a pistol but today you need a machine gun to stop him."
José Aurelio Gay [Real Zaragoza coach speaking after their 4-2 defeat to Barca]
“Tonight, I saw Diego Maradona, but at more revs per minute. There are no words left to describe him – he is interplanetary. We could have beaten Barcelona but we could never have beaten Leo Messi. If we had scored four, he would have scored 12.”
Ander Herrera [Rea Zaragoza playmaker that night]
“I’m not sure he’s human.”
Marcello Lippi
“The best? Messi”
Mikel Arteta
“It is as if someone commands him from the stands, like a video game. I have never seen a human run with the ball at that speed. I have not seen Maradona so I cannot compare, but Messi is simply unbeatable.”
Raul
“The other day I saw one of his games. He was running with the ball at a hundred percent full speed, I don’t know how many touches he took, maybe five or six, but the ball was glued to his foot. It’s practically impossible!”
Xavi
“It is clear that Messi is on a level above all others. Those who do not see that are blind.”
Johnny Heitinga
“I believe that I played well against Barcelona, the problem was that Lionel Messi was simply unstoppable.”
Arsene Wenger
“He’s like a PlayStation. He made the impossible possible. He has something exceptional.
In the biggest games, exceptional players still make the difference. Messi is the best player in the world, and by a distance".
"His team work to get him moving and once he's on the run, Messi is unstoppable. He's the only player who can change direction at such a pace."
Unknown
Some 51,000 fans went to see Argentina play Serbia in soccer Wednesday night … They made it clear that they were there to see superstar Lionel Messi, chanting his name from the first 10 minutes onward.[Nb. Messi did not play in this match]
LEO & DIEGO
Leo:"Diego is Diego and for me he is the greatest player of all time. Even after a million years I am not even going to be close to Maradona. I have no intention of comparing myself with Maradona - I want to make my own history for something I have achieved."
Diego:“I have seen the player who will inherit my place in Argentine football and his name is Messi. Messi is a genius and he can become an even better player.His potential is limitless and I think he’s got everything it takes to become Argentina’s greatest player.”
I couldn't resist posting this 
