- Messi considered one of the greats
- Pep Guardiola insists he is number one
- Also congratulated Alvarez on World Cup success
WHAT HAPPENED? Guardiola believes that Messi was already deserving of such a stature before his stunning World Cup triumph with Argentina at Qatar 2022. The City boss, who enjoyed huge success with the forward at Barcelona, thinks those who favour the likes of Maradona and Pele ahead of Messi do so for "sentimental" reasons, and he cannot see any other player matching the 35-year-old's career CV in the future.
WHAT THEY SAID: Guardiola said at a press conference: "Everyone has an opinion but nobody can doubt he's there as greatest of all time. For me he's the best, difficult to understand a player can compete with what he's done. The people who saw Pele or Di Stefano or Maradona. The opinions are sentimental, but the other side, if he wouldn't have won the World Cup, the opinion and my opinion wouldn't change. It's normal that people depends if you win or you are evaluated. The final cherries of an incredible career."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Guardiola knows all about Messi's immense talent after the duo won 14 trophies together at Camp Nou between 2008 and 2012, including two Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles. The Spaniard went on to congratulate Messi on his first World Cup triumph, as well as former Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi. He also expressed his pride in Julian Alvarez after seeing the City striker play a key role in Argentina's success. "We are incredibly happy for him [Messi] and Otamendi and – personally – for Messi. We are delighted for Julian," he added. "We have a world champion in our team. He will have a week or 10 days off."
IN TWO PHOTOS:
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Getty
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR GUARDIOLA AND MESSI? Manchester City will return to Premier League action when they host Leeds on December 28, while Messi will enjoy Argentina's celebrations a little while longer before returning to Paris Saint-Germain, who sit top of the Ligue 1 table heading into the second half of the campaign.