Real Madrid supporters might not be fans of Lionel Messi, considering the time he spent at FC Barcelona and the success that he had against Los Blancos. But at the same time, everybody recognises the Argentine’s greatness and after winning the World Cup last year, he might very well go down as the greatest to ever play the game.
Of course, Messi recently called time on his career in Europe in order to make the move to Inter Miami. Thus, it looks like he is now moving away from top-level football although he continues to play for the Argentina national team, who have won three trophies on the trot.
Another player who is counted among the all-time greats is Zinedine Zidane. The iconic Frenchman spent five years of his career at Real Madrid and it was his last club. He would later manage Los Blancos to great success as well, guiding them to a historic Champions League three-peat as well as several other trophies.
It is very clear that Messi regards Zidane in the highest of regards. The Argentine recently paid a beautiful tribute to the Real Madrid legend.
Messi makes beautiful claim about Real Madrid legend
As reported by MARCA, Messi and Zidane met up as part of an Adidas promotional event and the Argentine said to the French legend:
"“I admire you a lot, we were not lucky enough to play together.“But we did play against each other a little bit. Always respect and admiration for what you did and continue to do.“For me he is one of the greatest in history, I always admired him, I followed him a lot at Madrid, I suffered him because he was from Madrid. He was always a player. different, elegant, tall, magic, he had everything. I remember the goal against Leverkusen, the goals in the World Cup, the 360-degree turns…”"
Messi and Zidane are two of the greatest players to ever lace up a pair of boots. And they seem to hold a lot of mutual respect for each other as well.
Messi and Zidane did share the pitch, but on opposite sides in El Clasico. The Frenchman retired in 2006 while the Argentine was still a teenager at that point. It would have certainly been a treat to watch them play together in the same team and very unfair for the opposition.