Lionel Messi played a key role in Argentina's third FIFA World Cup triumph, and former Real Madrid and Spain manager Vincente Del Bosque has had his say in the debate surrounding who is the better player between Messi and his counterpart from Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Del Bosque has put his weight behind Messi and added that his love for Argentina is unrivalled. “The best player I have ever seen is Messi. Between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, I'll take Messi. I tried everything to get Messi to play for Spain. However, Lionel refused because of the love he has for his country,” Del Bosque said in a conversation with Radio Marca.
Messi showed consistency throughout the month-long extravaganza held in Qatar in November-December, with seven goals and three assists to his name. His performance earned him the Golden Ball award, and Messi became the only player in World Cup history to win this prestigious award.
“Of all the players I have known in so many years in football, for me, Messi, for his consistency and his quality as a player, has been impressive. He has had some fantastic seasons and has always led his team forward,” Del Bosque added.
In the final, Messi scored twice — once from the penalty spot in give Argentina the lead for the first time, and then during extra times as the Albiceleste went 3-2 ahead. Despite PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick giving France lifelines, Messi converted his penalty in the eventual shootout as Argentina ended their wait of 36 years for a World Cup trophy.
Joining this debate was Manchester City's manager Pep Guardiola, whose opinion on the matter was clear.
“Everyone has an opinion but nobody can doubt that he's there as the greatest of all time. For me, he's the best, it's difficult to understand that a player can compete with what he's done. The people who have seen Pele, Alfredo Di Stefano or Diego Maradona, the opinions are sentimental, but the other side, if he (Messi) wouldn't have won the World Cup, the opinion and my opinion wouldn't change, said Guardiola.
