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244 things football has said about Messi · search by name
Joe Cole
Current player · 2008
"In the semi-final Messi showed he's the top man. He is only 20 as well, imagine how good he will be in the next 10 years. I'd love to play alongside him.
Carlos Tévez
"He is from another planet. He is the main point of reference and the key man in the whole Barça team.
Ander Herrera
Current player · 2010
"I'm not sure he is human.
Nicklas Bendtner
"To me, Messi is the greatest player in the world right now. He has got a fantastic vision of the game, and what he can do technically - it's just crazy. The things he can do with the ball - and at pace and top speed - is just amazing. What decides it for me is not his many goals, although his goal account is impressive, but the thing is that he can do so much for his team. What counts is the total amount of his many, many qualities. He is just the greatest.
César Sánchez
"Messi is the best and cannot be compared to anyone. Messi cannot be compared to anything.
Thiago Silva
Current player · 2011
"When you face him you have to make decisions in an instant. When he approaches you, you have to make the sign of the cross and pray that everything will be alright.
Neymar
"I’ve always said Messi is the best player in the world.
Javier Mascherano
Current player · 2012
"Although he may not be human, it's good that Messi still thinks he is.
Samuel Eto'o
"Messi is God, as a person and even more as a player.
Thiago Alcântara
"People often say to me they saw Pele and Maradona play. In the future, I will be able to say I saw Messi play.
Maxi Rodríguez
"There is no doubt, you're from another galaxy. Thanks Leo.
Wayne Rooney
"Messi is a joke. For me, the best ever.
Radamel Falcao
"Is Messi playing in the Champions League or is he playing a Playstation game?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
"He plays like he’s on PlayStation, it’s unbelievable. People who say otherwise either don’t know anything about football or are just talking nonsense.
Gerard Piqué
"Leo is from another planet. What makes him the best is that other great players have had ups and downs, like Maradona. He wasn’t half of what Leo is at Barça. Messi has had so many good years in his career that he deserves to be considered the best ever.
"Messi does not need his right foot. He only uses the left and he's still the best in the world! Imagine if he also used his right foot ... Then we would have serious problems!
Pablo Aimar
"For years I thought that there would never be a player like Maradona. But now Messi is at his level.
John Terry
"It’s something for me that I can tell my kids that I’ve played against Messi when we watch him on television. For me he’s got everything. He is magical to watch. When I finish and look back, and he will still be going strong, I will be able to say to myself I tested myself against the best. And quite clearly, for me, he is the best ever. He’s a great individual player but a great person as well and a credit to football.
Mario Gómez
"I am not crazy enough to compare myself with Messi because he is the best there ever was and the best there will ever be.
Gianluigi Buffon
"He's a once in a generation player. I think it's unlikely that any human being again will repeat the numbers that Messi is getting.
Josip Šimunić
"He's been by far and away the best footballer in the world for the last five or six years. He's the best player of all time and if he stays fit he will continue for the next five or six years. The things he does right now are out of this world. Of course, he doesn't play by himself, but he is simply incredible. He always finds a way and is always a yard quicker than everyone else. If you have a player like that on your side, you needn't fear anyone.
Keylor Navas
Current player · 2013
"I think Messi is the best in the world, a very good player and that he is a gift from god.
Fabricio Coloccini
"He is by far the best player in the world – he’s a one-off.
Franck Ribéry
"Messi is class. There is him, and then there is the rest. What he does is extraordinary. He demands admiration.
Victor Valdés
"Messi is the best, for me, Messi is God, he is the best and always will be – for what he has given the team and for how much he has made me enjoy being in the same team as him.
David Luiz
Current player · 2014
"It's the efficiency that made the difference. Messi is fantastic, the best player ever.
Arda Turan
"Lionel Messi is out of this world, he's an alien. For me, he is the best player in the history of football.
Koke
Current player · 1992
"Messi is God – you see him on the pitch and he is spectacular.
Niklas Moisander
"Messi is unbelievable. It is great to get the chance to play against the best in the world. It doesn't really need repeating: he is a fantastic player.
Alex Song
"Lionel Messi. Oh... I think this guy is fantastic. He’s the best player I have ever seen in my life.
Ivan Rakitić
"Needless to repeat, that he’s the best player in the world, the best of all-time. I enjoy training with him, he makes everything easier.
David Silva
"He's the best of all time.
Lucas Moura
Current player · 2015
"Messi has always been my idol.
Mario Götze
"He's achieved so many great things and set the bar so high that practically nobody is ever going to reach it.
Juan Bernat
"Messi is the best player in the world. We'd have to kidnap him to stop him.
Mehdi Benatia
"It's impossible to control Leo for 90 minutes.
"Messi is an alien, that dedicates himself to playing with humans.
David Villa
"Messi is so talented that 70% of the goals I scored at Barça came from his boots. With him in your team, you're calm.
Ángel Di María
"Having him as a rival is complicated. You see game after game that it is impossible to take the ball off him, impossible to stop him. There are no words to decribe his talent. For me, and as others have said, he is from another planet.
James Rodríguez
"Messi is out of this world. He is a special player and you can't compare him to me. It would be unfair to him.
Edinson Cavani
"It's a gift. I haven’t seen any other player, at least during my career, who plays like Messi does. For me that makes him the best footballer in the world.
Jérôme Boateng
"For me, he's the best player in the world. That's football. Defending Messi one-on-one is not possible.
Vitolo
Current player · 1989
"Messi is the best player of all time, and today he had a stormer.
Massimo Luongo
"I think Messi's just beyond everyone else.
Iker Casillas
"The best striker I have ever faced? Lionel Messi. It has always been Messi.
İlkay Gündoğan
"The best player ever? Lionel Messi.
Marco Reus
Ousmane Dembélé
Current player · 2022
"I spent four beautiful years with Messi at Barcelona. He is an exceptional player. I'm very happy that he was my teammate.
Ronaldinho
Former player · 2006
"This award says I’m the best player in the world, but I’m not even the best player at Barcelona.
Diego Maradona
Former player · 2008
"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.
Johan Cruyff
"He deserves 10 out of 10 for doing what he does.
Juan Sebastián Verón
"I see Messi every time he grabs the ball and accelerates. But he is shy, like a little brother who likes to hang out with PlayStation rather than talk. We must protect him. I'd personally put him in a drawer of my bedside table.
Raúl
"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.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
"Nobody was so wonderful at 19 years, neither Pele nor Maradona.
Former player · 2010
"Leo floats over the field - sometimes you have the sensation he's not even there, that he's hiding. But he's there and the rival knows it.
Ossie Ardilles
"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.
Luís Figo
"For me, to watch Messi play is a pleasure – it's like having an orgasm – it's an incredible pleasure.
Paolo Maldini
"When I see Messi playing, I think he should win the Ballon d'Or every year. I have no doubt. He is an unbelievable player.
"The ball stays glued to his foot; I’ve seen great players in my career, but I’ve never seen anyone with Messi's ball control.
Ryan Giggs
Former player · 2011
"He is probably the best player of the last 20 years. He is such a slippery player. Because of his height and quickness he is difficult to pin down and his balance is exceptional.
Ruud Gullit
"He is an exceptional talent. I still think Diego Maradona is the best player I have ever seen – but Messi is closing in fast. He's a wonderful sight in full flight and we are lucky to have him around.
Sergio Batista
"Leo is a virtuoso. He does things with the ball that just seem impossible. He's got great ability. His control of the ball when he is running at high speed is excellent. He has a superb shot. There is precision in his passing. To summarise... he's got everything. He has every single attribute you would want to find in a player.
Julio Salinas
Former player · 2012
"If Gary Lineker is saying that Messi is making him realise just how sh*t he was · then imagine how the rest of us feel.
Gerd Müller
"My record stood for 40 years - 85 goals in 60 games - and now the best player in the world has broken it, and I'm delighted for him. He is an incredible player, gigantic.
Pele
"Technically, we’re practically at the same level.
Sandro Mazzola
"His control and technique while going at full speed is unique in the world.
"Messi will be the player to win the most Ballons d'Or in history. He will win five, six, seven. He is incomparable. He's in a different league.
Albert Ferrer
"For me, Messi is the greatest. I played with Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Michael Laudrup and Stoichkov but Messi is the best I’ve seen. He has evolved in a way that nobody could expect.
Willy Sagnol
"When it comes down to natural talent there’s no one who’s at Messi’s level.
Tostão
"Messi is better than Maradona; he is more complete, more consistent, more spectacular. He is reinventing the game – a mix of the real and the virtual.
Carlos Bianchi
"Messi is better than Maradona and Pelé. Every week he shows that he is capable of things that no one had done until now. Messi defies the laws of anatomy, he must have an extra bone in his ankle.
Michael Owen
"I can't believe anyone can have played the game of football as well as Messi.
Sir Bobby Charlton
Former player · 2013
"I think now he’s probably done more than most players. But he is in the same class as Alfredo de Stefano, Johan Cruyff, Pelé. When he finishes and he retires, he will automatically become one of them. A player that people will talk about forever, while the game of football is as good and as popular as it is. He is a sensational player.
David Beckham
"Messi is simply the best player in the world. Messi is alone in his class as a player, it is impossible that there is another like him.
Marcial Pina
"Messi is the best player I've ever seen, better than Maradona and Cruyff combined.
Jorge Valdano
"Messi is Maradona every day. He has played at the level of Maradona in 1986 for the past five years.
José Guti
"I can only repeat what I have already said before and that is that Messi is the best in the world at the moment. It pains me to admit it, but it’s the simple truth.
Romário
"Newton and Einstein also had a certain level of autism. I hope that like them, Messi surpasses himself every day and continues giving us his beautiful brand of football.
Santiago Solari
"What’s really incredible is his consistency. It’s practically inhuman to keep going like him. What Messi has achieved, far outweighs what Cristiano has done.
Javier Zanetti
"When Messi has the ball at his feet he can do things that you can’t imagine.
Francesco Totti
"There is only one player who is doing things that I could never do and that is Messi.
Michel Platini
"He's the great player of this generation, like there were great players in other generations.
Gary Lineker
Former player · 2014
"Messi produces more pieces of exceptional skill in a single game than I managed in an entire career.
Franz Beckenbauer
"Messi is a genius. He has everything. When I watch him I see a player who is very, very skilful, very clever and his left foot is like Diego Maradona's.
Rio Ferdinand
"Big congratulations to Messi, the magician, the artist, the genius. What more words can I use to describe this guy? Twenty-seven years old and broken the Champions League record from Raúl. Possibly one of the hardest players I’ve played against in my time in the game. The left foot. It’s beautiful. At the moment this guy’s taking liberties with everyone.
Carles Puyol
"There's a special part of Messi's brain allowing him to see the split-second chaos of football in his own personal super slow motion.
Ronaldo
"Messi is really a different class. To win four consecutive Ballon d'Ors is a great achievement.
Michael Laudrup
"The Messi of the early years was a phenomenon, but he always wanted to finish off the move. Now he goes past one, two or three players and is happy to give an assist to a team-mate - it makes him more dangerous and more difficult to stop than ever before.
"He's the first genius of the 21st century.
Paul Scholes
Former player · 2015
"I am not ashamed to admit that in the games against Barcelona I spent a lot of the time just hoping he would take up positions as far away from me as possible.
"I think about the great players with whom I have shared a pitch: Eric Cantona, Zinedine Zidane, Pirlo, Xavi, Cristiano Ronaldo – and the greatest of them all is Messi.
Graeme Souness
"He's a problem solver, a game changer, the greatest player to have played the game. I am more than 60 years old now, and I don't believe that I've seen, or that I'm likely to see, anyone better in my lifetime. The world's best when I was growing up was Pele and he would have been a great player now, too, but Messi surpasses him. He's also way out ahead of Diego Maradona - it's not even close anymore.
"I was lucky enough to play with Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo, Cristiano... but Messi is different; he makes everything look so easy, so effortless – even the impossible.
"Messi makes the difference. I think he has reached and surpassed the level of Maradona.
José Luis Chilavert
"The best by far is Messi. Second is Maradona, third is Pele and Di Stefano. Fifth is Cruyff, Zidane or Pele.
Matt Le Tissier
"Not often I sit and watch football and chuckle at how good someone is.
Alessandro del Piero
"Messi is the real deal when it comes to No10s. He represents a type of football that transcends borders.
Ian Wright
"Messi is the best in the world by far; for me, nobody comes close.
César Luis Menotti
"What Messi does is terrifying. It’s indescribable magic. You can’t analyze it.
Gabriel Batistuta
"I love Messi. Who doesn't? He's from another planet. An extraordinary player.
Pelé
"Messi has been the best player of the last 10 years. He played at the same level for 10 years.
"I never ever thought I would say that there was a better player than Maradona since he was in my time and I was in awe of him, but I honestly think for a number of reasons that Messi has surpassed him. He can do anything that Maradona did, and he does it more frequently and consistently.
"He's head and shoulders above anyone I've seen. He's an alien. He's better now than he was four years ago because he reads the game better. He's unstoppable.
Miguel Ángel Nadal
"Barcelona have a great team with one special player, Messi. He is able to unlock a game from out of nowhere. Cristiano Ronaldo has been putting in spectacular performances, but there really is no comparison with Messi. Messi is on another level than all the other players. He is the undisputed best. No player has the ability to do what he does.
Lobo Carrasco
"He can hurt you 40 metres away from goal, not because he takes the ball and starts dribbling past opponents, but because on top of that he can also create the definitive goal chance. The god of football started playing, he is unstoppable when he starts playing. If you think otherwise, ask Jerome Boateng or all those fantastic players that face him.
Roy Keane
"Messi is the best I’ve ever seen. I don’t dish out praise lightly but Messi deserves it. I look for weaknesses in his game and I can’t find them.
Patrick Kluivert
"He really is from a different planet. Even if you are supporting another team you have to admit this.
Juliano Belletti
"Messi is the Pelé of my generation. I don't understand the criticism of him. You cannot criticize a player like Messi.
Georgi Kinkladze
"I heard an interview with Sir Alex Ferguson where he revealed his greatest players of all time. He said Messi was in a category of his own. I am a big fan of Diego Maradona but Messi is a phenomenon. His performances at club level are unbelievable. You can play a season or two like that, but not all these years. He set the bar very high from the start.
Former player · 2016
"He doesn't have the personality to be a leader.
Thierry Henry
"Sometimes I ask myself if Messi is human
Former player · 2018
"Every player on the planet is in Messi's shadow. If you want to step out of Messi's shadow, you should try another sport.
Fabio Capello
Coach / figure · 2005
"I have never seen a player like him, with so much quality and audacity at his age, in a so important a stadium and with that shirt. He has everything. He has an extraordinary future - I'd love to bring him to Juve!
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Coach / figure · 2008
"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.
Mauricio Pochettino
Coach / figure · 2009
"What Messi brings to a team, no other player can bring.
Gregorio Manzano
Coach / figure · 2010
"[How to stop Messi?] You need to bring a shotgun, pam-pam and that's it.
Miguel Ángel Lotina
"Messi is the best player I’ve seen in my life. Not just better but much better. Much faster. Much, much more skilful.
Christian Gross
"I think he is certainly one of the best in the world and people are right to make comparisons with Diego Maradona. It’s amazing when you think he is still only 22-years-old. He’s just a fantastic player.
Barcelona
"Put in the superlatives yourselves, I'm running out. It's already been a while now that he has been outstanding. That he's capable of doing everything that he does at his age is something impressive, that doesn't make any sense.
Joan Laporta
"Messi has once again shown that he is a wonderful player and that he is, without doubt, the leader of Barcelona. He is the best player in the world and the best in the history of football. Along with Cruyff and Maradona, he is the best player we have seen at Barça.
José Aurelio Gay
"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.
Arsène Wenger
"Messi is like a Playstation.
Alfio Basile
Coach / figure · 2012
"You cannot compare anyone to Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo is a great human player, but Messi is a Martian.
Manuel Pellegrini
"I don't know the parameters for the Ballon d'Or. I only know that Messi deserves to win every trophy.
Diego Simeone
"Diego Maradona filled us with emotions. But between the cracks, without doubt, Messi is better than Maradona.
Robin Dutt
"Whoever plays football knows that there are no words for Messi. He is a category all of his own: the best player in the world, another galaxy.
Terry Venables
"Messi is like an Oliver Twist character, picking a pocket or two, the Artful Dodger, where he’s just sort of slipping around, looking like a little lad in the playground. He’s not really taking it seriously, and he makes you smile every time he gets the ball. And when he does some of these things, I have to laugh because it’s not possible what he does. It’s wonderful to watch. It’s just wonderful to see. You’ve got to pinch yourself sometimes, it’s really amazing what he does.
David Moyes
Coach / figure · 2013
"Look at Lionel Messi – he gets kicked every week. Everybody wants to kick Messi because it is the only way to stop him, but all he ever does is sort of smile, get up and get on with it, and then does it again.
Guillem Ballagué
"Messi is just a one-off, a freak of nature, who sees and does things nobody else sees or does.
Gerardo Martino
Coach / figure · 2014
"With respect to Leo, I don’t know what can I say. Nothing surprises me with him. He controls the game well, passes the ball well, he is a good finisher, he can press and recover the ball. He is a footballer that can do everything. He sees passes that most people can only see whilst watching the game on TV or in the stands, not ones that you can normally see on the field.
Luis García
Coach / figure · 1972
"When he gets going, he creates panic. You have to have a perfect game to stop him.
Rodolfo Borell
Coach / figure · 2015
"Messi is from another galaxy. Fans get used to it, but what he does is not normal.
Harry Redknapp
"He’s like a kid at school playing against a load of kids who can’t play, it’s incredible. It’s so silly; he’s on another planet, just amazing.
Luis Enrique
"Of course life is easier with Lionel Messi. He does all sorts of things. We see that every day. He is from another planet.
Fran Escribá
"I've never seen a better player than Messi. He's so good that he can even get around the three players you send after him and still notice the two teammates he has in space. It'll be hard to ever see another player like him.
"Messi has creativity, imagination, he can go straight for goal... He can pass like nobody else in the world. Messi is in another dimension.
Ronald Koeman
"Messi is best player ever. Some say Pele, Cruyff or Maradona, but none of them was as decisive as Messi.
"Messi is the number one footballer in the world. No other player in the past few years comes close.
Louis van Gaal
"Messi proves himself nearly every game. Despite his immense talent, he remains very modest. I like that in him and I respect Messi a lot.
Pinto da Costa
"I feel sad when the best player in the world is chosen, and I see, for example, that the Portuguese coach · my friend Fernando Santos · does not place Messi among the top three. It's absurd. As a Portuguese man, I will say that Ronaldo is the best in the world. Messi is from another planet.
Unai Emery
"Messi's ability to play at the highest level with Barcelona and their consistency is what wins them these titles.
Ernesto Valverde
Coach / figure · 2018
"I applaud what he does and I hope the crowd enjoyed and will remember what he does. We are fortunate to be around while the best is playing. It is a pleasure to have him with us. Today was a real show. He is the best there is and there has been.
ABC
Media · 2007
"Simply stellar, proud and majestic. He is the re-incarnation of Maradona.
The Guardian
"You can forget the Little Donkey, the Rabbit, the Clown and all the other great pretenders, it's the Flea with the fast feet and fabulous control who gets closest to el Diego. He may not have the same the strutting confidence or the big mouth - in fact, he makes whispering Ted Lowe sound like a town crier - but there's definitely something about Messi.
Gerry Armstrong
Media · 2010
"I have played against Platini, Maradona, Cruyff and played with George Best · a lot of big names, but none of them has been able to do what Messi does. Two years ago I said that the best player I played against was Maradona and the best player I have played with was Bestie. But I can now say I have never seen a player as good as Messi. He’s in a league of his own.
Ray Hudson
Media · 2012
"They say all men are equal in god's eyes. This player makes you seriously think about those words.
"If he is so good, how can you express that? The superlatives ran out ages ago. On these pages, swearing has been tried. Or perhaps a symbol, something to signify that we have gone beyond words now.
António Lobo Antunes
"There are three or four important things in life: books, friends, women, and Messi.
CNN
"Are there any adjectives and superlatives left to describe little Leo? Messi is unstoppable and we should feel privileged to be watching a player who may be the best of all time.
Eduardo Galeano
Media · 2013
"I like Messi because he doesn’t think he’s Messi.
Martin Tyler
Media · 2015
"Here he is again ... here he is again .. that's astonishing, absolutely world-class!
Esquivel
"Messi saved football. There has never been such an overwhelming, devastating, decisive and unique player.
"At the Camp Nou Messi scored two brilliant goals, made a third and at times yawned his way around champion opponents like a man tactfully avoiding a gaggle of overheated toddlers in a high street coffee shop. Often he took the ball and shimmied past two or three men, operating within a kind of fermata, events slowed and paused around him, and providing a reminder that he remains one of the great dribblers, master of the flip-flap, the surge, the amphetamine-crazed-millipede shift of feet.
Media · 2018
"People think I am an admirer of Messi. No, you are all wrong. I am an admirer of genius in football. The greatest footballer that I have ever seen in my life.
Pep Guardiola
"Don't write about him, don't try to describe him. Just watch him.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Current player · 2019
"We've had that battle for the last 15 years · he pushed me and I pushed him as well, that's why the rivalry was so good.
Xavi Hernández
Former player · 2021
"For me, Messi is the best player in history. He is the one who changes the course of games; there is no comparison.
Andrés Iniesta
Former player · 2022
"With or without the World Cup, he is the best. It was not necessary for Messi to win it for me to consider him the greatest.
José Mourinho
Coach / figure
"Messi is the god of football. When Messi has the ball, one on one, you're dead.
Jürgen Klopp
Coach / figure · 2022
"The greatest footballer in my lifetime is Lionel Messi; the way he plays football at this age should give us all a hint at how long footballers can perform at the top level.
Sir Alex Ferguson
Coach / figure · 2011
"Lionel Messi could play in the 1950s and the present day, as could Di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff because they are all great players. Lionel Messi without question comes into that category.
Zinedine Zidane
"He is always going forwards. He never passes the ball backwards or sideways. He has only one idea, to run towards the goal. So as a football fan, just enjoy the show.
Massimiliano Allegri
"For me, Messi is the best player in the world.
Adriano Galliani
"Messi is the best player ever. And this is said by someone who has seen Maradona and Pele play.
Luiz Felipe Scolari
"The only bad thing about Ronaldo's life is Messi. If it was not for him, Ronaldo would be the best player in the world for five years in a row.
Carlos Bilardo
"Messi defies the laws of anatomy, he must have an extra bone in his ankle.
Radomir Antić
"Messi is the Mozart of football.
Sandro Rosell
"Barca will never have a player like Messi again. Messi's greatness is present on and off the field of play.
Josep Maria Minguella
"I believe Leo comes from a marvelous planet, the one where exceptional people like violinists, architects, and doctors are created.
Gennaro Gattuso
"He seems to toy with his opponents. He is faster, has more class and scores when he wants to.
Lionel Scaloni
"I am honoured to train him and see him play. Every time you see him play, it's a huge source of motivation for his team-mates, the people, the whole world.
Roberto Mancini
"Messi is a genius. He was born to be a player.
Antonio Conte
"We are talking about an extraordinary player - the best in the world.
Frank Rijkaard
"Messi's goals are a piece of art.
Marcello Lippi
"The best? Easy, Messi.
Joachim Löw
"Cristiano Ronaldo is sensational, but Messi is the most complete player I have seen.
Carles Rexach
"In two minutes, I saw his speed and his skill, and decided we would sign him.
"Messi is the Maradona of today.
Media
"Messi is the best. The second best is Messi injured.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Former player
"Who's better, Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Messi. Ronaldo is good, but Messi is ten times better.
Dani Alves
"Messi has a divine gift.
Bacary Sagna
"He is the best in the world. Football seems easy when he plays it.
Gheorghe Hagi
"Cristiano Ronaldo is very good, but I prefer Messi. He's incredible.
Mario Balotelli
"There is only one player who is a little stronger than me – Messi.
Steven Gerrard
"He's an incredible footballer. I think the best ever, the best there will ever be.
Andrea Pirlo
"He has achieved so much, but I'm sure he'll achieve so much more. Everybody knows he's one of the greatest ever already.
Cesc Fàbregas
"His individual efforts are so big that they contribute to the whole team and the club in general.
Deco
"A football genius and a personal friend of mine. Simply the best I ever had the pleasure of playing with at club level.
Sergio Busquets
"He's the best because of the things he does and the records he's breaking almost every day. It's impossible to find anyone else with a talent like his.
Jordi Alba
Former player · 2025
"I'm proud to have played with the best in the world. Including Leo, who, for me, is the best player in history.
José Mari Bakero
"Messi is unpredictable. When he sees an opponent's move, he can decide in a millisecond to do something else.
Antonio Cassano
"Messi is the greatest in the history of football.
Edgar Davids
"He is an anomaly. The rest will have to wait until he falls off a little bit.
Marco van Basten
"There is no doubt about it, Messi is clearly the best player in the world.
Mia Hamm
"He makes you hold your breath every time he touches the ball.
Kaká
Former player · 2020
"He's a genius, a pure talent. The way he plays is incredible.
Rivaldo
Former player · 2019
"Everything that he's doing is spectacular: the goals, the big games he steps up in. There's no other player like Messi this season.
Roberto Carlos
"My God, who is this player? He's the new Maradona. I knew he'd be the best player in the world.
Toni Kroos
"In terms of individual performances in a championship, I've never seen a footballer play as regularly as this guy.
Frank Lampard
"Messi was the most incredible player – it was like you were playing against someone who's not on the same level as all of us.
Kylian Mbappé
Current player · 2025
"As a player, he was unique. When you have someone like that on your team you have to stay close to them and observe everything they do.
Erling Haaland
"Both Cristiano and Messi are an example of what you should do to be able to perform at the highest level for 15 years in the greatest leagues.
Luis Suárez
Current player
"Messi is the best in history. He is also a spectacular human being who welcomed me very well when I got to Barcelona.
Robert Lewandowski
"He is one of the best in history, not just the last few years.
Luka Modrić
"He is the best player in history and he deserves it.
Sergio Ramos
Current player · 2023
"There was suffering for several years playing against Messi. He is the best player football has ever produced.
Frenkie de Jong
"I've never seen such a big difference between one player and the rest. Whatever we did in training, Messi was the best, always.
Pedri
"Leo Messi is the best player I have ever seen.
Isco
"I named my dog 'Messi' because Messi is the best in the world.
Lautaro Martínez
"For us Argentines, Leo is as important as Maradona was.
Christian Pulisic
"I would say Messi because growing up he was always my favourite.
Paul Pogba
"Messi and football are two things that go together. He does things that nobody does.
"When I am an old man I will tell my grandchildren that their grandfather used to play with Lionel Messi.
Gary Neville
"The only time I have ever been genuinely mesmerised by a player was Messi for the 20 minutes before half-time at the Camp Nou against Manchester City.
Jamie Carragher
Media · 2024
"For me, he's the best player we've ever seen play football.
Alan Shearer
"He creates his goals from absolutely nothing · more so than anyone that I've ever seen.
Mark Lawrenson
"Messi is the best footballer I have ever seen.
Phil Thompson
"The more I see of Messi the more I'm convinced he's the greatest of all time.
Kenny Dalglish
"In Lionel Messi, Barca also have one of the finest footballers the world has ever seen.
Sid Lowe
"If he is so good, how can you express that? The superlatives ran out ages ago.
John Carlin
"He is a genius who reserves all his expressiveness for football.
"Anyone still arguing? He's the Messiah. I should know, I've followed a few.
"Everyone has an opinion but nobody can doubt he's there as the greatest of all time.
Emiliano Martínez
"People can say that the favourites are France, but we have the great advantage to have the greatest player of all time.
"He's one of the best players in history, if not the best.
"For me, Leo is the best in the world and the best in history, without a doubt.
Former player · 2023
"In my view, he's the best player to ever play the game.
"He is the best player in soccer history. He took Barcelona to another level.
Coach / figure · 2023
"If I have to choose one I choose Leo, I have something special with him. He is the best of all time, although Maradona was also great.
Coach / figure · 2025
"Messi is without a doubt the best football player in history, in my opinion.
Coach / figure · 2024
"In our generation, he was the best.
"Messi for me individually for talent is the greatest ever probably, in my opinion.
"Lionel Messi for me. But I would never say anything disrespectful about Cristiano Ronaldo because he's another phenomenal player.
Peter Crouch
"Lionel Messi picks himself. For me, he's the best that's ever lived.
Media · 2023
"Ronaldo is one of the greatest goalscorers of all time, Messi is the greatest player of all time, it's not even close.
Media · 2022
"Even as a madridista, I've always thought that whoever doesn't love Messi doesn't love football. I won't allow anyone to say he is less than anyone ever.
Mark Ogden
Media · 2026
"The biggest star of them all is Lionel Messi, and he reminded the world that he is still the GOAT with a stunning hat-trick against Algeria.
James Olley
"120 minutes that ebbed and flowed and ended with Lionel Messi cementing his legacy as the greatest footballer in history.
Brian Straus
"Seven goals, three assists and one trophy lift later, a strong case can be made that Messi has no peers, now or in any era.
Rob Dorsett
"The greatest player ever, winning his first World Cup, at what is almost certainly his final World Cup.
Mark Doyle
"He's now immortal. He's now the GOAT.
Danny Ryan
"Messi is a bona fide World Cup legend and, in the eyes of many, football's GOAT.
Barney Corkhill
"There was no more fitting way for the greatest of all time to cement his crown than to come out on top in arguably the greatest final of all time, on the biggest stage of all.
Source: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA) · original citation linked on each quote