Lionel Messi is the best player in the history of soccer, according to the central defender who tried to tame the Barcelona forward on Wednesday night.
Barcelona won 3-1 against Paris Saint-Germain to confirm that they would finish top of Group F in the Champions League. And David Luiz, who has previously played for Chelsea before his move to the French champions in the summer, is adamant that Lionel Messi was the reason why they lost.
Talking to Canal+ , via the Daily Mail , after the hugely enjoyable game, Luiz admitted that Barcelona had simply been too strong for Paris Saint-Germain.
“It’s the efficiency that made the difference. They were better than us; they have three huge forwards. Messi is fantastic, the best player ever. Barca also have a smart head coach and other great players.”
By scoring in Wednesday’s game against Paris Saint-Germain, Lionel Messi went level with Real Madrid forward, Raul, at the top of the all-time scorers in European soccer list. Messi has now scored 76 times in all European competitions, while he is now just a goal ahead of his rival and peer, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo also scored on Wednesday night as Real Madrid ran out comfortable winners against the Bulgarian champions, Ludogorets, as they won by four goals to nil.
David Luiz is just the latest in a long line of professional footballers, managers, and experts — each of whom have tried to label either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi as the greatest soccer player of all time.
Last month, Wayne Rooney revealed his pick, as he declared that in his opinion Cristiano Ronaldo had now overtaken Lionel Messi in this category. When asked who should win the Ballon d’Or, which is annually given out to the best soccer player in the world over the last 12 months, Rooney declared that Ronaldo should be given the prize for the second year in a row.
“I think so. He’s had an incredible two or three years, and I think he has certainly overtaken Lionel Messi now as the best player in the world. I’m sure it’ll be difficult to give it to anyone else.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s national manager, Fabio Capello, disagreed with Rooney’s assessment and he declared that Messi was the more talented player.
“Cristiano is a powerful player, with very good technique, but he does not possess the pure technical skill of Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are two extraordinary players but they are different. Leo Messi is a very difficult player to play against. When I saw Messi play I knew he was special. I could see that he could do things that didn’t occur to other players.”
[Image via NDTVIMG ]