Lionel Messi 'The Best Player in History,' Says La Liga President Javier Tebas

La Liga president Javier Tebas has hailed Lionel Messi after he won The Best FIFA Men's Player 2019 award on Monday.

Per Omnisport (h/t Goal), Tebas said he hopes Messi remains in La Liga for the rest of his career after winning 10 titles with Barcelona since making his senior debut in 2004: "He's the best player in history. We're lucky to have him in La Liga. I cannot imagine a league without Messi. He was born in the Spanish league and I hope he ends [his career] here."

The 32-year-old Argentinian beat Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo to claim FIFA's top award in Milan.

It was his first individual honour in four years and the first time he has claimed the FIFA gong in its current iteration:

He and Ronaldo have both won the Ballon d'Or—arguably football's most prestigious individual award—five times and are the players that have defined their generation.

Outside of Messi and Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, Pele and Johan Cruyff are regularly brought into the conversation about the best player ever.

Tebas' preference for Messi is understandable given the impact he has had on La Liga.

Due to injury, Messi was only able to make his first start of the 2019-20 season in the Spanish top flight on Tuesday, when Barca picked up a pressure-easing 2-1 home win over Villarreal after their worst La Liga start in 25 years:

Antoine Griezmann and Arthur were the goalscorers for the Blaugrana, but the victory was marred by what looked like a fresh injury to Messi, who had to be replaced by Ousmane Dembele at half-time:

Messi won the FIFA Best award on the strength of his remarkable showing last term when he led Barca to a second consecutive league title:

After their poor start this season, it is clear Barca will have little chance of defending their title if Messi is sidelined for a lengthy period, and manager Ernesto Valverde will be desperately hoping his latest knock is nothing serious.