Zinedine Zidane is one of the most experienced people in soccer, so his opinions all count. Apart from his experience, the Frenchman carries himself with grace, which explains his decision not to take up any job since leaving the Real Madrid post in 2021 because he wants the right job where he can implement his ideas properly.
Through his experience as a player and manager, Zidane knows a gem when he sees one, and after declaring Ronaldo the best player of all time during their time at Real Madrid, the Frenchman has declared his opinions about Lionel Messi in an interview put together by Adidas.
Zinedine Zidane lavishes praise on Lionel Messi
Zinedine Zidane met Lionel Messi in Miami in a special interview facilitated by Adidas, and one of the first words Zidane said to Messi was, “I wish we played together.”
Although from different generations, Zidane and Messi briefly played against each other in Spain as they represented Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively. This was when Lionel Messi was breaking out of Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, and in one of his first tastes of the bitter rivalry with Real Madrid, he played against Zidane in 2005.
“It’s only one word: magic,” Zidane said. “Me and Leo are not together every day, so today is a very important day for me because I can tell him how much I admire him. And all the people who like football, and all these players who are different, I think he’s magic, magic in the sense that before receiving the ball, he already knew what needed to be done.”
“Especially for me, as someone who understands football, watching you on the field, I almost knew what you were going to do, you know? It was like a connection.”
Messi also did not hold back in praise for the Frenchman as he also expressed his admiration for the former Real Madrid maestro. “I’m not saying this because he is here; I’ve said it several times before. I think he is one of the greatest players in history,” Messi declared.
Zidane, who has been out of a job for more than two years, could be in line to take up the Manchester United job as current manager Erik ten Hag’s position at the club is threatened by a poor run of results.
Zinedine Zidane hails Cristiano Ronaldo
Zinedine Zidane’s interview with Lionel Messi may be the most interesting thing on social media at the moment, but one man Zidane knew all well about, even before he played for Real Madrid, was Cristiano Ronaldo. The Frenchman first spoke about Ronaldo in 2006 when the Portuguese was still a Manchester United player.
“He’s quick, fast, strong with both feet, good in the air. He’s got tremendous potential, and I see him going a long way,” Zidane said at the time.
Ronaldo won his first Ballon d’Or award two years later and won four more, with his last coming in 2017 when he was a player under Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid.
Unlike Ronaldo, who only won five Ballon d’Or awards, Messi won his eighth a few weeks ago in France, where the ceremony was held, beating the likes of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to it.
Is Messi truly the greatest soccer player of all time?
