Real Madrid legend makes huge Lionel Messi claim

Real Madrid fans are not too fond of Lionel Messi. The Argentine is a Barcelona icon and was a thorn in the side for Los Blancos for close to two decades. But despite of the rivalry, nobody can deny his greatness. He is without a doubt one of the best to ever play the game of football and might have even sent himself to the top of that list, with his World Cup triumph last year.

Marcelo is someone who came up directly against Messi on numerous occasions. While the Brazilian is a left-back, the Argentine spent a large portion of his career playing on the right-wing.

Marcelo came up against several world-class player through the course of his decade-and-a-half long run in the royal white jersey of Real Madrid. But the Brazilian has picked Messi as his toughest opponent.

As reported by GOAL, Marcelo told The Athletic:

"“Messi is incredible, the toughest opponent I’ve ever faced. We all know the quality he has even now, aged 35, and before it was the same. El Clasico has always been one of the best games to watch and play. I was lucky enough to have featured in one of the best eras of Clasicos. But it wasn’t just Messi, there were other players who were also incredible.”"

Real Madrid legend makes huge claim about Messi

For years, Messi was criticised for failing to reach the heights with the Argentine national team, that he had done with Barcelona. Things have changed drastically in that regard over the past few years though.

Messi would go on to end his long wait for an international trophy in 2021, by winning Copa America. And then last year, he guided Argentina to the World Cup.

Thus, he has to be in contention for being the greatest footballer of all-time. And Marcelo picking him as his toughest ever opponent should come as no surprise to anyone. Messi has scored the most goals and provided the most assists in El Clasico history.

As for Marcelo, it was just last summer that he brought an end to his legendary career at Real Madrid. He would go on to join Olympiacos but that move proved to be a failure. He has already left the Greek club since then and currently finds himself back at Fluminense, the Brazilian team whose youth ranks he came through.