Pope Francis believes Lionel Messi is better than Pele and Diego Maradona

Lionel Messi sports his new hairstyle

Pope Francis of Argentina believes that Lionel Messi is the greatest player ever to have stepped onto a football field. He is a staunch follower of the gifted Argentine and stated that Messi is one step ahead of Pele and Argentina’s very own Diego Maradona.

Lionel Messi, who has almost covered the entire football record book, is often compared to the likes of Diego Maradona, Pele and his Portuguese rival Cristiano Ronaldo. But the Catholic Church leader was all praise for the gifted Argentine as he picked him as the number one footballer the game has ever seen ahead of the other three.

Ronaldo won Euro 2016 and also the UEFA champions league 2015-2016 and many believe that Ronaldo now is a more complete player than Messi as he has that one major trophy with his country. There are many who also believe that the Real Madrid star is all set to add his 4th Ballon d'Or to his name but the Pope dismissed all these beliefs as he thinks trophies are not the ultimate achievement. 

According to him, Messi is not only the best of his generation but also the best ever. He put Messi ahead of even Diego Maradona who lifted the World Cup with Argentina and is considered the best in the world by many.

“For me, [Lionel] Messi is better than Maradona and Pele”, the Pope told young supporters taking part in World Youth Day.

Messi has been struggling to win a major trophy with Argentina for a long time now. The Barcelona star ended up at the losing end of three finals in the recent past despite his best efforts. He also missed a spot kick in the Copa America Centenario final against Chile, who beat Argentina for the second time in a final to clinch their 2nd Copa America title.

Messi retired from International football right after the final at the Metlife Stadium which took social media by storm.

The Argentine star has also been in the news for his latest quirky hairstyle and is expected to have another stellar season for Barcelona.

But his empty international trophy cabinet seems to have no impact on his supporters which includes Pope Francis. Messi returned to action in the pre-season with a 3-1 win over Celtic as he looks forward to the upcoming season.