Real Madrid boss, Carlo Ancelotti, has refused to pick Lionel Messi as the best player in history despite him leading Argentina to glory at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Many believe Messi’s success in Qatar has ended the GOAT debate considering Cristiano Ronaldo crashed out of the tournament when Portugal lost 1-0 to Morocco in the quarter-final stages.
However, Ancelotti has refused to crown Messi as the greatest player to have graced the earth. Instead, he named Johan Cruyff and Diego Maradona as potential candidates.
Speaking at Real Madrid’s pre-match press conference on Thursday morning, Ancelotti said: ‘It’s difficult to say, I don’t know if he’s the best in history.
‘It’s not fair to say that, because each era has very good players. ‘Messi is the best in history’ won’t come out of my mouth.
He went on to add: ‘I’ve enjoyed so many good players… I train the Ballon d’Or every day. And I’ve seen Cruyff, Maradona play…’
However, thousands of fans and pundits took to social media after the World Cup to say Messi’ performance had finally ended the GOAT debate.
