If you were to ask the casual fan who the best footballer to ever live is, the go-to answer would be Lionel Messi, who is the record Ballon d’Or winner with eight gongs to his name. And so, to be labelled ‘world-class’ by the trophy-winning Argentine is something incredibly invaluable.
Despite Messi’s status as being one of the – if not the –best footballers to ever grace the earth, he’s always remained gracious in how he has spoken about his fellow professionals.
lionel messi
The seasoned 38-year-old, wholeheartedly, understands what it takes to become among football’s crème de la crème and, over the years, he’s named eight players whom he deems suitable for the ‘world-class’ category. Spoiler alert: Wayne Rooney is included – but who joins the Englishman?
1 Cristiano Ronaldo
cristiano ronaldo
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s duopoly at the top – especially at Ballon d’Or ceremonies – formed a natural rivalry between the two, but it was one boosted by utter respect for each other’s dedication to mastering their craft. Messi once said:
"Cristiano Ronaldo is an extraordinary player and it would be brilliant to be in the same team as him. I do not know if that will happen one day, but I would like it to as he is spectacular."
The Portuguese talisman’s talent is not in doubt, of course, by virtue of his envious prowess in the final third. Not only is he international football’s highest-ever goalscorer with 138 strikes in 221 appearances for Portugal; but that is also the case for Real Madrid. He's just incredibly talismanic!
2 Luis Suarez
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez
It just feels right that Messi picked Luis Suarezgiven they are widely regarded as one ofthe best duos in sports history. Add the tricky Neymar into that mix – and Barcelona’s three-man attacking constellation was, at times, practically unstoppable.
"You’re unique, Luis Suárez, both on and off the field. I care about you a lot,” he said when singing the praises of the Uruguayan talisman, who now plies his trade alongside Messi in the States.
Whether he was playing for Liverpool, Ajax or Barcelona, Suarez proved time and time again that he knew where the back of the goal was. He’s a man that needs no introduction, but one that combined perfectly with Messi in Spain.
3 Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos celebrates scoring for Sevilla.
Once upon a time, Messi was mustering up new ways to get the better of Sergio Ramos; then, in the summer of 2021, they became teammates at PSG. The Argentine reminisced about their ‘intense’ El Clasico meetings by saying:
"We (Barcelona) fought a lot with Sergio Ramos. We later became teammates, but [before] in the Clásicos, we always grabbed each other. The Clásicos were intense."
Widely regarded as one of the best defenders in football history, the Spaniard was a brute in both boxes – as evidenced by his terrific goalscoring rate for a defender. Not afraid to lunge into tackles either, it’s clear to see why Messi rates him so highly.
4 Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard celebrates scoring for Chelsea
Frank Lampard, who enjoyed the large chunk of his career in west London for Chelsea, was labelled as ‘one of the best in Europe’ by Messi. Ahead of Barcelona’s Champions League clash with the Premier League side, per talkSPORT, he said:
"We know they have a great squad that contains some of the best players in Europe, but I particularly admire Frank Lampard.”
He then went on to wax poetic about his goalscoring prowess: “To have a midfield player who consistently scores so many goals at the top level is a rare thing. It is something we need to look out for in the two matches. For sure, Frank is a big threat."
5 Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney in action for Manchester United
Back in 2015, as reported by The Standard, Messi sang the praises of Wayne Rooney, who was Manchester United’s do-it-all striker between 2004 and 2017. "Wayne Rooney is, for me, a once in a generation player. One of those special players, who is not comparable to any other,” he said before adding:
"There are many special players, but Rooney has exceptional quality and technical ability as well as being one of the strongest players I have faced with an exceptional work rate - there is nobody like him."
Akin to a bulldozer, the Liverpool-born talisman’s perfect concoction of pace, power and technical ability made him an absolute nuisance to mark. Rooney was called a ‘once-in-a-generation’ player by Messi – and it’s hard to disagree.
wayne rooney lionel messi
6 Kylian Mbappe
kylian mbappe
Messi has witnessed, first-hand, how much of a devastating threat Kylian Mbappe can be. The two were teammates on 67 different occasions in the French capital before their respective moves to Inter Miami and Real Madrid in recent years.
“Kylian is a different player. He’s a beast, he’s very strong one-on-one, he finds space and he’s very quick. He can score a lot of goals, he’s a very complete player and he’s been showing that for years. In the next few years, he’ll be among the best, no doubt about it.”
Paris-born Mbappe is, naturally, earmarked as being one of football’s greatest ever. His superstardom status has propelled to otherworldy levels since joining Los Blancos in the summer of 2024 – and his goalscoring hasn’t slowed down either: he's scored 44 goals in 56 outings for the club.
7 Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema
In an era of football that was dominated by Messi and Ronaldo, Karim Benzema bucked that trend in 2020 by winning the Ballon d’Or. On whether the talismanic Frenchman’s success was deserved, Messi made it clear. "I think Benzema was a fair winner,” he said.
“He deserves it for the great year he had and what he has been doing throughout his career. He is a wonderful player and I think it is important for him and for soccer that he has this recognition.”
Benzema, 37, scored bucketloads of strikes (354) for Real Madrid between 2009 and 2023 before he left Spain for the financial allure of Al-Ittihad. In truth, there are very few strikers who can claim to be as potent as the ex-Olympique Lyonnais prospect.
8 Xavi Hernandez
Xavi in action for Spain
If anybody can tell you how gifted Xavi Hernandez is, it’s probably his former partner in crime Andres Iniesta… or Messi, who played 399 times alongside the Spanish engine room patroller. Waxing poetic about the midfielder-turned-manager, Messi said:
“Xavi, it's difficult to describe him as a player – everybody in the world knows what he can do on the field. He’s a player who dictates the rhythm of the game, he can put the ball where he wants, he reads the game excellently."
“It’s been a pleasure to play alongside him for so long and to be able to enjoy his football – not just in games but in training sessions as well,” the forward continued. “He is the best player in the history of Spanish football – I think that says everything.”