Ronaldinho Says Lionel Messi Is 'Best in His Time' but Can't Say 'The Best Ever'

Ronaldinho has said he cannot name former Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi as the best player of all time.

The Brazilian is in no doubt that Messi is the world's best player, but he isn't fond of comparing players across generations.

Per AS (h/t Goal's Robin Bairner), he said: "I can't say that Messi is the best ever, but he is the best in his time. I don't like comparisons because it's hard to identify who the best in history is. There's Diego Maradona, Pele, Ronaldo."

Ronaldinho spent five seasons at Barcelona between 2003 and 2008. He witnessed firsthand Messi's rise from the club's academy to a key player in the first team after the Argentinian made his senior debut in 2004.

There may never be true consensus as to who is the best player in history, but Messi already has an incredible case to put forward, and he's only 32.

In 702 appearances for Barcelona, he has scored 617 goals and contributed 250 assists, while for Argentina he has 70 goals and 45 assists in 138 appearances.

Many of his goalscoring feats are second to none:

Earlier in December, he notched a record 35th hat-trick in La Liga:

His efforts have seen him win football's most prestigious individual prize, the Ballon d'Or, a record number of times:

The amount of silverware he has collected with Barcelona over the years is almost unrivalled as well. The forward has won 34 honours with the Catalan club, including 10 La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions Leagues and six Copas del Rey.

With Argentina, his sole success is a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games. His efforts have helped La Albiceleste reach the 2014 FIFA World Cup final and three Copa America finals, but they haven't been able to triumph.