Lionel Messi’s World Cup triumph with Argentina will not lead to Carlo Ancelotti labelling him as the best footballer in history.
Carlo Ancelotti has made it abundantly clear that he will never declare Lionel Messi as the greatest football of all time.
Winning the World Cup with Argentina gave Messi the only prize that had previously eluded him, adding to a trophy cabinet that boasts four Champions League medals, 10 LaLiga titles and seven Ballon d’Or wins.
This has reignited the debate over who is the greatest player in history, with Messi’s status being boosted against the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona.
While some now like to declare Messi the greatest of all time, those words will never be uttered by Real Madrid boss Ancelotti, who coached the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Karim Benzema.
“It’s hard to say. His career continues whether he has a World Cup or not,” he told a news conference.
“There were a lot of strong players in every era. ‘Messi is the best in history’ doesn’t come out of my mouth.
“I’m enjoying the best, I’ve seen Maradona, [Johan] Cruyff, I’m coaching the current Ballon d’Or winner [Benzema]. I don’t know who is the ‘best ever’.”
Ancelotti has been linked with taking over as coach of Argentina’s arch-rivals Brazil, but the Italian has reiterated his commitment to Madrid.
“I don’t know if they’re interested because they haven’t contacted me,” he said.
“In any case, I appreciate it, but my situation is very clear: I am happy in this adventure and I will continue until Madrid tells me ‘it’s over’.”
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