"He's number one" - Former Atletico Madrid star makes honest admission when asked to choose between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Former Atletico Madrid defender Filipe Luis believes Lionel Messi is better than Cristiano Ronaldo. He claims that the debate is not close, as the Argentine is miles ahead of every other footballer.

Speaking on The Obi One podcast, Luis said that Messi is the player he has enjoyed watching the most, and he used to follow Barcelona matches for the Argentine. He added that every coach who faced the Catalan club had trouble stopping the forward and said:

"I played against Messi, he's number one, for sure. By far, there's no one even close. He's the player I most enjoyed watching; I watched every Barcelona game. And you know, every game, every team, every coach who faced Barcelona, their concern was doing something to stop him."

Luis went on to reveal that Messi challenged him the most on the pitch, and he used to watch the Barcelona matches instead of going out, and said:

"Like I said, I watched every Barcelona game, even when I was playing for Deportivo La Coruna or Atletico. If Barcelona was playing on Saturday at eight o'clock at night, I couldn't go out to eat; I had to stay and watch the game because Messi was going to be playing. And when I played against him, my only thought was to stop him, to think about how to try and beat him. He's the player who challenged me the most."

Luis added that he considers Messi the best player he has ever watched, thus excluding Pele and Diego Maradona.

"Of all the players I've seen - because I didn't see Pele or Maradona - I didn't feel anything like that with Messi. He's number one, I'm a huge fan of his, and I think he's brought a lot of joy to many people with his style of play."

Filipe Luis faced Lionel Messi 27 times in his career, winning just three times. The Brazilian faced Cristiano Ronaldo 19 times, winning 5 of those matches.

Cristiano Ronaldo believes he is better than Lionel Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed he is better than Lionel Messi, saying he disagrees with those who believe otherwise. He was talking to Piers Morgan when he said:

"Messi better than me? I don't agree with that opinion. I don't want to be humble."

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d'Or five times in his career, while Lionel Messi has managed to win it eight times.

Edited by Sripad