Argentina’s Lionel Messi has been named the greatest player in history, surpassing Pele and Diego Maradona, according to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola thinks that prior to Argentina’s stunning World Cup victory in Qatar 2022, Messi was already deserving of such a reputation.
The City manager, who had great success with Messi at Barcelona, believes that those who prefer players like Maradona and Pele over the 35-year-old do so for “sentimental” reasons. He also believes that no other player will ever have a resume as impressive as that of the forward.
Pep Guardiola’s statement
Guardiola said at a press conference: “Everyone has an opinion but nobody can doubt he’s there as greatest of all time. For me he’s the best, difficult to understand a player can compete with what he’s done. The people who saw Pele or Di Stefano or Maradona. The opinions are sentimental, but the other side, if he wouldn’t have won the World Cup, the opinion and my opinion wouldn’t change. It’s normal that people depends if you win or you are evaluated. The final cherries of an incredible career.”
Given that the pair won 14 trophies at Camp Nou between 2008 and 2012, including two Champions Leagues and three La Liga championships, Guardiola is well aware of Messi’s extraordinary talent.
The Spaniard continued by congratulating Nicolas Otamendi, a former Manchester City defender, and Lionel Messi on their respective World Cup victories. After witnessing Julian Alvarez of City play a significant part in Argentina’s victory, he also expressed his admiration for the player.
“We are incredibly happy for him [Messi] and Otamendi and – personally – for Messi. We are delighted for Julian,” he added. “We have a world champion in our team. He will have a week or 10 days off.”
On December 28, Manchester City will face Leeds in a Premier League match. Meanwhile, Messi will continue to take in Argentina’s festivities before rejoining Paris Saint-Germain, who are currently leading Ligue 1 going into the second half of the season.
