Emile Heskey is not always given the credit he deserves for a wonderful career at the top level of football in England. Representing the likes of Leicester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa among many others during his 22-year senior career, the powerful forward mixed it with some of the very best in the world.
Not only was he a real handful for defenders at club level, but Heskey was handed 62 caps by the England national team, having made his debut in 1999. This means he shared a pitch with the biggest named stars on the planet at international level as well.
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Heskey played for the likes of Liverpool and Aston Villa, and also represented England on 62 occasions.
While Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi rose to prominence in the latter part of Heskey's career, the two Ballon d'Or winners were easily the two best footballers around when he hung up his boots in 2016. Despite that, the Englishman has revealed he played against two other stars he felt could be 'on the same level' as Messi and Ronaldo.
Emile Heskey on 'Superstars' as Good as Messi and Ronaldo
'They were just brilliant'
In an interview with SPORTbible, the ex-Liverpool target man recalled two players he came up against in the early stages of his career who he thought would go on to be seen among the greats of the game, as Ronaldo and Messi both are.
First, Heskey claimed he believed former Argentina playmaker Pablo Aimar would reach the level of his compatriot. He said: "The only opponent I played against who I thought would be on the level as Lionel Messi was Pablo Aimar. He was on that level, but not as high profile as Messi. He was outstanding. I played against him in the England Under-21s, couldn't get near him."
Aimar, who played for River Plate, Valencia and Benfica, never reached the heights expected of him. Even Messi called the Argentine midfielder one of his heroes. Another of Messi's compatriots who caught Heskey's eye was Juan Roman Riquelme. The retired striker stated: "I played against Juan Roman Riquelme, and we just couldn't get near him."
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Riquelme is seen as one of the most technically gifted players the South American nation has produced, but also never reached the pinnacle of the beautiful game. Heskey still remembers his battles with Aimar and Riquelme fondly, claiming they could've been as good as Ronaldo and Messi:
"I was bigger than them and I was thinking I could run around them, they were just outstanding, the way they manoeuvred and manipulated the ball, they were just brilliant. Players like that stood out for me, I thought they could be superstars on the same level as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo."
Statistics in this article are courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 07-06-25.