"Represents talent, skill, beauty; how we understand football" - Former Barcelona star explains why Lionel Messi is still the best player in the world

Former Barcelona midfielder Gaizka Mendieta believes Lionel Messi is still the best player in the world. The Argentine maestro rose through the ranks at Camp Nou, before conquering the world with the Catalans.

La Pulga would go on to become the LaLiga champions' greatest ever player, and is currently their record goalscorer and assist maker. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is also Barcelona's most decorated player, while he has the most silverware in history as well.

Speaking to MARCA, Mendieta added that it will be a while before a new name dethrones Lionel Messi from the podium.

"He is still Messi. There is no player at his level. Obviously the level he gave at Barça is not the one he gave at Inter Miami. When I was talking before about what football is for those of us who like football, Leo represents that. It represents talent, skill, beauty... how do we understand football in that way," said Mendieta.

He continued:

"It will be a while until we see someone who can dethrone him from the podium in that way. There is a lot of talent. History shows that one will come, but I think it will take time."

The 38-year-old left Barcelona in the summer of 2021 to move to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as a free agent. He enjoyed a decent two-year stay with the Parisians before moving to Inter Miami in 2023.

How many trophies has Lionel Messi won with Barcelona?

Lionel Messi has won a record 46 trophies in his career so far. 35 of those, interestingly, have been won with Barcelona.

La Pulga's first trophy with the Catalans was the 2004/05 LaLiga trophy, and the player would go on to win the league a total of 10 times during his stay at Camp Nou. The diminutive magician was a force in Spain and dominated the domestic tournaments as well.

Messi won the Copa Del Rey seven times with the Catalans, and also has eight Supercopa de Espana trophies in his locker. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's run in Europe is quite impressive too, with four Champions League titles and three European Super Cups under his belt.

The Argentine also won the FIFA Club World Cup three times with Barcelona. Lionel Messi's last trophy with the LaLiga champions was the 2020/21 Copa Del Rey. La Pulga has scored 672 goals and set up 303 more from 778 games for the Catalans to date.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written nearly 10000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 21 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit