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Ex-Barcelona midfielder Ramon Caldere has kept Lionel Messi on the list of the top-three footballers of all time, stating the PSG man is beyond comparison. Caldere, who plied his trade at Barcelona in the 80s, has kept Messi alongside Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff on his list of all-time greats.
The act of comparing former legends with current superstars is a difficult task. Lionel Messi sees himself go up against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski on a regular basis. However, that is hardly the extent of it. The Argentine is also pitted against players from the past.
Lionel Messi has rarely spoken about the comparisons he faces every day. The superstar keeps his head down and focuses on being the best version of himself. Caldere, too, believes that comparing Messi with others, including Maradona, doesn’t make much sense.
Speaking to Infobae, Caldere admitted that he hasn’t seen Brazilian legend Pele in action and hence didn’t consider him for his list.
Discussing football’s best-ever players, Caldere said:
“There is no comparison. Of those that I have seen, the three best in history are: Messi, Maradona and Cruyff. When Pele played I was very young and I don't have many references. I've seen all three play up close.”
Messi spent 21 years at Barcelona, 16 of those as a senior team player. He scored 672 goals and provided 301 assists over the course of his Barcelona career before moving to PSG in August 2021.
Lionel Messi set to finish the year as Barcelona’s top scorer
Lionel Messi left Barcelona a good four months back. Yet the Argentine is all set to end 2021 as Barcelona’s top scorer. The Argentine scored 28 goals for Barcelona in the second part of the 2020-21 season.
Current Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann is in second place at the moment, having scored 15 goals in all competitions. Amongst active Barcelona players, Memphis Depay will finish the year as the club’s leading scorer. The Netherlands international has only scored eight goals for the Blaugrana in 2021.
