This time it was Manuel Almunias turn to hail the Argentine after he beat the Spanish goalkeeper four times in their Champions League encounter.
He said: “Messi is a brilliant player and the team in general are outstanding. Barcelona were very good and the best team in this game – but we played better than in the first leg. I tried to anticipate what he was going to do but he has a lot of skills and can do whatever he wants at any moment. It is difficult to stop those kind of players. He is the best player I’ve ever faced – I think he is the best in the world.
Furthermore, several TV pundits also spoke about the greatness of Leo
Former Liverpool boss Graeme Souness raved: “He is as good a player as I have ever seen. This was one of those nights where, in years to come, you can turn around and say ‘I was there’. He is by far and away the best player. He is in a different league to anyone else. If anyone else in the world wants to become the No 1 then they need to look at that performance and try to beat it – but I think it’s impossible, he is the best.”
Former Dutch international Ruud Gullit, who held Messi’s World Player of the Year Award in 1987 and 1989, also believes the Argentine is the world’s top player. He said: “He is more in control of himself and he knows he’s difficult to stop. He’s only 22, he’s a young lad and by the time he’s about 27 he will have so much experience. “He is already the best in the world and it is also all about the work he does without the ball. He wants to tackle back and get the ball. “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. But my one fear is that he will get badly injured. The way he plays means he is always so close to taking a terrible tackle. Let’s just hope he’s around this summer to grace the World Cup. But he will want to win the Champions League for Barcelona first.”
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