#3 Ali Daei
The Iranian legend holds the record for the most international goals in football, having racked up 109 goals – a figure both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are far behind. While Daei appreciates the qualities of all the nominees, he thinks Messi is a cut above the rest.
Speaking about the award, Daei made his opinion clearer, saying “I have never seen anyone like Messi. Antoine Griezmann also is a good player but Messi is the best. I like Cristiano Ronaldo as well but I think the Portuguese player takes advantage of his physical fitness. I also think Griezmann is more creative than Ronaldo and he has room to improve.”
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“Diego Maradona is one of the best players in the world but due to man marking system in modern football, I think Messi is a better player than him. Modern football differs in many respects from football in the past. In my opinion, Messi deserves to win Ballon d'Or.”
#4 Diego Forlan
Forlan was Ronaldo’s teammate at United and explained why he thinks Messi is better, saying “There is one part of his game that I wish he would not have changed. When I played with him and in his first years at Real Madrid, he used to go past players for fun, like Messi. Now he is more of a finisher, a killer in front of goal.”
“Messi has that too, but he also has the ability to go past two or three players and change a game. He deserves the Ballon d’Or”
