Lionel Messi is widely considered the greatest player of all time, yet the Inter Miami star would not be who he is today without a certain Pep Guardiola.
The Manchester City manager was the one who brought the best out of Messi during their time together at FC Barcelona, where the pair won virtually everything with the 2010/11 squad still widely considered the best in the history of club soccer.
La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners, Messi and Guardiola were a match made in heaven as the duo brought the best out of each other on the pitch and on the touchline, with the La Masia graduates both considered the greatest in their respective fields.
And Guardiola has now shared if he thinks Messi is the best player ever ahead of the likes of Diego Maradona and Pele.
Guardiola hails former Barcelona star Messi as ‘the best of all time’
Speaking on the Italian talk show Che Tempo, Che Fa, the Catalan coach named Inter Miami’s superstar captain Messi as ‘the best of all time’ when asked who he believed was the greatest to ever play the game of soccer.
Given that Guardiola has worked with Messi and was key to the Argentine becoming as good as he is, it makes sense why the former Barcelona manager still holds his former player to such a high regard, with the forward still one of the best in the world at the age of 37.
Guardiola said: “For me it’s easy to say he’s the best of all time, but the stars came together at the right moment. The greatest ever? Maybe that’s a lack of respect to Pele and Maradona, but for me, it’s Messi.
“I’ve never seen someone like him as a coach, you can’t imagine him maintaining this continuity for 15-20 years. When you see him up close, you think of Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan, we were lucky to work with him, he is so unique.”
Messi is the undisputed Greatest of all Time in soccer
With eight Ballon d’Or wins and 46 titles and counting, Messi is without question the greatest player soccer has ever seen, with no player yet to come close to achieving what the Argentine has managed in his career.
The former Barcelona superstar has won everything there is to win at his level, with Messi likely to add MLS Cup to his trophy cabinet later this year if Inter Miami go all the way in the post-season with the captain now fully fit.
And with the CONCACAF Champions Cup and FIFA Club World Cup on the horizon for Inter Miami, there’s a chance Messi can add even more chapters to his growing legend, with the Argentine already rightfully considered the Greatest of all Time.