Pope Francis Reportedly Rates Lionel Messi Above Pele and Diego Maradona

Barcelona icon Lionel Messi has received praise from on high after Pope Francis voiced his belief the recently retired Argentina international is the best footballer of all time.

Pope Francis was recently in Krakow, Poland, for a World Youth Day gathering and was asked whether Diego Maradona or Pele were the better player, to which he replied, per Spanish daily Sport: "For me, Messi."

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

Of course, the current leader of the Catholic church may be slightly biased on the matter considering he was born in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires and is said to be a fervent football fan.

At the Camp Nou, Messi regularly lines up alongside Luis Suarez and Neymar to form arguably the most devastating forward trio to have played the sport, but he's now received the blessing of a different Holy Trinity.

Pope Francis isn't alone in lauding the talents of Messi, either, with Yahoo's Andrew Gaffney and Goal's Ben Hayward recently attesting to his credentials as the best there is:

At 79 years of age, Pope Francis is old enough to hold memory of Maradona and Pele in their playing primes, too, and even then, Messi still comes out on top of the greatest player debate in his opinion.

Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi has received a raft of plaudits in his playing career, and his disciples will now take comfort knowing even the Pope rates him as the best of all time.