‘He Is Touched By God,' Former Argentina Striker Picks This Player Over Fellow Countryman Lionel Messi

Former Argentina striker Martin Cardetti, who currently is managing a club in Ecuador, has said he would pick Ronaldinho “at his best” over Lionel Messi if he had to pick a player for his team.

Cardetti played alongside Ronaldinho at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for a year before the Brazil great moved to FC Barcelona in 2003.

When you talk about the best players to have ever played soccer, the top names that pop up are of Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazil’s Ronaldo, Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho to name a few. Since Messi and Portugal’s Ronaldo have dominated the game for the last decade or so, the two are generally compared to the soccer greats of the past.

Messi and Ronaldinho were teammates at Barcelona when the former made his first-team debut. In fact, Messi’s maiden professional goal came from Ronaldinho’s assist. These two share a great bond until today but are also pit against each other by fans to determine who is the better of the two.

Ronaldinho had a decorated career with Barcelona, Brazil, Milan and PSG, winning the 2005 Ballon d'Or, FIFA World Cup, Champions League and La Liga among other trophies. In comparison to this, Messi has achieved almost everything on the club level but his glorious CV still lacks a memento of success with his country, Argentina.

Messi, who recently clinched a record sixth Ballon d’Or award to go one ahead of former Real Madrid great Ronaldo, has so far secured 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League wins among other trophies with Barcelona, with whom he has been associated since he was 13.

“As a coach, for my team, I would choose Ronaldinho at his best over Messi. I shared a year with Ronaldinho and he is a different player, he's touched by God. He always had fun; with the ball, he was always doing things and he practiced a lot so that he could replicate those things in matches,” Cardetti, who currently manages Mushuc Runa, told Crack Deportivo.

Further speaking about the Brazil great, Cardetti added, "You see him in training, in matches and every move he makes is different from everyone. Players like him appear very rarely and they are remembered in football history. I'm proud to have been a teammate of that kind of player.”