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Lionel Messi's former teammate at Barcelona, Gerard Deulofeu, snubbed the Argentine while making his pick for the greatest player in football history in a 2020 interview. The Spaniard, who currently plays for Italian side Udinese, said Brazilian legend Ronaldinho was the world's finest footballer.
Gerard Delofeu had the opportunity to watch Ronaldinho at Camp Nou while growing up in Catalonia. He also had the privilege of sharing the pitch with Lionel Messi after breaking into Barcelona's senior team from the youth setup in the 2014-15 season.
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Sharing his opinion on the GOAT debate, the Spaniard wasted no time in throwing his support behind the Brazilian magician.
“For me, Ronaldinho is the best player ever,” he said during an interview with Marca in 2020.
Delofeu also recalled the moment he met the Selecao icon when he went to watch Barcelona play at Camp Nou, describing it as a 'wonderful experience'.
“I met him. I went to watch a game at the Camp Nou and he was sitting next to me. It was a wonderful experience,” Delofeu added.
Lionel Messi also holds Ronaldinho in high regard. Speaking about the Brazilian's influence at Barcelona during an interview in 2019, the Argentine said, as quoted by talkSPORT:
“Ronaldinho was responsible for the change in Barca. It was a bad time and the change that came about with his arrival was amazing. In the first year, he didn’t win anything but people fell in love with him.
“Then the trophies started coming and he made all those people happy. Barca should always be grateful for everything he did.”
Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi's numbers with Barcelona
The Brazilian joined the Catalan giants from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2003 for a reported fee of €30 million. He made 207 appearances for the club, recording 94 goals and 71 assists across all competitions before leaving for AC Milan in 2008.
Lionel Messi, meanwhile, started in the Blaugrana's youth system before earning promotion into the senior team during the 2004-05 campaign. The Argentine ended up making 778 appearances for the club across all fronts, bagging 672 goals and 303 assists prior to his move to Paris Saint-Germain last summer.
