"Messi is better than Pele and Maradona," says Argentina's coach Carlos Bianchi

Legendary Argentinean coach Carlos Bianchi believes that the talent present within Lionel Messi is much more prolific than the likes of Maradona and Pele. The greatest-ever-player debate has been going on for decades with opinions divided over Pele and Maradona. However, the emergence of Messi has appeared to have instilled a new challenger for that coveted title and Bianchi is certainly advocating for the Barcelona starman.

“A few days ago I did a talk for a business and a Brazilian asked me in the middle of the conference who I considered the best footballer in history, Maradona or Pele. I answered that, with all due respect to those two, right now I see Messi as superior to everyone,” the coach stated in his column for ESPN

“There have been excellent footballers that weren’t able to play in great national teams to prove their class. Moving on from everything that has happened or will happen when he puts on the Argentina jersey, Messi confirms every week that he is capable of doing things that nobody else has managed in the history of football.”

The legendary coach has previously lifted three Intercontinental Cup/Club World Cup titles with Velez Sarsfield and Boca Juniors and is certainly a mighty presence in Argentine football. While he claimed that Messi is the best ever footballer, Bianchi was also quick to heap praises on Barcelona, labelling them as the best ever team to have graced the planet.

“The demonstration of collective football Barcelona showed to crush Santos gives me the confidence to put this sentence down on paper: we are in the presence of the best team in history,” he concluded.