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Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has picked Lionel Messi as his preferred player when he was asked to choose between La Pulga and Diego Maradona. Salah was further questioned to pick between himself and Messi, and he opted for the Argentine.
In a recent interview with L’EQUIPE, the Egyptian King was asked to choose between Messi and Maradona. He said (via All About Argentina):
"Maradona or Messi? Messi. Salah or Messi? Messi. I'll stay with Messi."
The debate regarding who the greatest Argentine player is has remained an active topic despite the sad passing of Maradona in November 2020. While many have claimed that Messi is the best Argentine, others have deviated and opted for El Pelusa.
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Maradona was a skilled and dangerous attacker in his playing days. Prominent for his Hand of God goal, the Napoli legend bagged numerous goals in his illustrious footballing career.
El Pelusa netted 159 goals and delivered 107 assists in 346 outings for four clubs that he featured for. They include Napoli, Barcelona, Sevilla FC, and Boca Juniors. Maradona likewise won numerous trophies for club and country. Most notably, the 1996 FIFA World Cup with Argentina, the 1986-87 and 1989-90 Scudetto with Napoli, among others.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi is arguably one of the most gifted players that the football world has seen. La Pulga is well known for his proficiency to destroy defensive set ups in a blink and his imagination in attack remains incredible.
While La Pulga is at the tail end of his outstanding career, he remains one of the most decorated and loved footballer. In 928 club games, Messi, who is currently in the ranks of Inter Miami, has bagged 753 goals and 360 assists.
Lionel Messi has also been a blessing to Argentina having engineered a FIFA World Cup triumph in 2022. The former Blaugrana forward also has eight Ballon d’Or awards to his name among other remarkable trophies.
When Pele was asked to pick between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Late Brazil legend Pele was once asked to choose between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi in 2018. The iconic goalscorer picked La Pulga ahead of CR7, claiming that Messi was more stable at the time.
In an interview, he said (via GOAL):
“I would still stay with Messi. Scoring is important, no doubt, but if you do not have anyone to prepare, then the ball is not enough. For my team I prefer Messi. Messi's been the most stable in the last 10 years. As for Cristiano Ronaldo, he's a great goalscorer."
Lionel Messi has scored nine goals and has got three assists for Inter Miami in 2025. Meanwhile, CR7 has bagged 33 goals and recorded four assists in 39 outings for Al-Nassr this season.
