"He is the best player football has ever produced" - When Sergio Ramos made bold claims about Lionel Messi

Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos once called his former Barcelona counterpart Lionel Messi the best player in the game's history. The two notably played two seasons together at Paris Saint-Germain between 2021-22 and 2022-23.

During their time in La Liga together - especially when Ramos was with Madrid and Messi with Barcelona - between 2005 and 2021 - the two squared off in multiple El Clasicos across competitions.

In their second season together in Paris - in a February 2023 interview - Ramos waxed lyrical of Messi on PSG TV (as per GOAL):

"There was suffering for several years playing against Messi. I am now enjoying him. He is the best player football has ever produced."

It's pertinent to note that Ramos spent nine years at Los Blancos with Messi's arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo - widely regarded as one of the game's best players - where they had many a battle with the Argentine's Blaugrana.

Ramos' comments on PSG TV suggests he rates Messi as a better player than Ronaldo despite playing with the Argentine for a far shorter time than he did with Ronaldo.

How Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos fared together at PSG?

Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos arrived together at PSG in the summer of 2021 on free transfers after respectively leaving Barcelona and Real Madrid. With the Parisians, the duo featured together in 45 games across competitions, recording two joint goal contributions.

Both goals - one scored by Messi and the other by Ramos - came in the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season. Together, the duo won two Ligue 1 titles and one French Super Cup.

Last summer, Messi moved to MLS to join Inter Miami while Ramos returned to his former club Sevilla in Spain. The Argentine is into his first full season with the Herons, while Ramos is without a club after his one-year deal with Sevilla expired last month.