Nobody would doubt Sir Alex Ferguson's status as one of the greatest managers of all time. The legendary Scotsman enjoyed a remarkable 27-year spell at Manchester United as he created one of the Premier League's most dominant teams.
Lifting a total of 13 league titles, 'Fergie' was equally impressive on the continental scene. His United teams claimed two Champions League trophies while he was in the dugout, with one a part of their historic 1998/99 treble.
However, the Red Devils may have claimed a third in 2011, had they not come up against Barcelona and one of the best players ever, Lionel Messi. And speaking about their starman at a later date, Ferguson made a bold claim.
Ferguson: Messi had Pele and Cruyff Quality
Alex Ferguson
Back in 2012, Messi was hot off winning a third Ballon d'Or award in as many years. The Argentine enjoyed a standout year at the Camp Nou, putting in a Man of the Match performance in the Champions League final against Ferguson's United as they won 3-1.
Also winning La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup, there was no doubt who the best player in the world was. The Barcelona icon finished with just shy of 48% of the vote. His closest competitor, long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, was some way behind him on 21.6%, with teammate Xavi even further behind in third place.
After claiming a third successive prize, many were already uttering Messi's name along with the game's greatest. And Ferguson was no different, stating that he deserved to be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Pele and Alfredo Di Stefano.
"Critics have always questioned whether players like Pele from the 50s could play today," Ferguson said. "The answer to that is great players would play in any generation.
"Lionel Messi could play in the 1950s and the present day, as could Di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff because they are all great players. Lionel Messi without question fits into that category."
Messi added even further weight to Ferguson's comments the very next year, collecting a fourth Ballon d'Or in a row to break Michel Platini's record. Although Barcelona fell short in the Champions League semi-finals against Chelsea, that year was even more insane for their star player from an individual standpoint, as he reached 91 goals in a calendar year.
Ferguson's Regret Over Messi
Park Ji-sung and Lionel Messi in the 2011 Champions League final
In truth, there was little anyone could do to stop Messi claiming the prize in 2011. After all, he had claimed five trophies and played the starring role for the best team in the world.
Scoring against United and lifting the famous European trophy at Wembley was just the crowning glory for him. But Ferguson believed that he could have stopped the Argentine from running the show that game had he made one tactical tweak.
Speaking back in 2021, a decade on from the match, Ferguson and Gary Neville were reflecting on the match when Ferguson admitted he made a tactical error by playing Park Ji-Sung on the left. He believed that if he'd told the South Korean to man-mark Messi, United would have won.
"That's where I lost the final against Barcelona at Wembley," Ferguson told Sport Bible. "I should've changed it at half-time and put Park Ji-sung on Messi. That was a mistake. I realised that after 10 minutes.
"I was going to do it at half-time, but we'd just equalised before half-time and I thought they might've seen the game differently. We were quite good in the last 10 minutes of the first-half, we'd come into it and we could've been in front actually.
""But I think if I'd have played Park Ji-sung against Messi I think we'd have beaten them, I really do."