LIONEL MESSI snubbed both himself AND Cristiano Ronaldo in picking his dream 5-a-side team.
The PSG star, 35, admitted he believes he and the Al Nassr ace ARE the best players in the world.
Messi, however, claims he and Ronaldo are still world’s best players. But he couldn’t find a place for either in his ultra-attacking 5-a-side crew.
Instead, Messi opted for former Barcelona team-mates Neymar – now at Paris Saint-Germain – and Luis Suarez – who now stars for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Grêmio.
Fellow Argentine and Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero also made the cut in the team.
Messi also selected ex-Chelsea man Eden Hazard and Neymar’s World Cup-winning team-mate Kylian Mbappe.
However, the Barcelona maestro believed in 2019 neither himself nor Ronaldo have been dethroned as the world’s best players just yet.
Messi revealed he enjoyed competing with fellow GOAT-wannabe Ronaldo in LaLiga, although less so when the Portuguese star was winning medals at his expense.
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Messi told Marca in 2019: “It was nice to have Cristiano Ronaldo in LaLiga because of the prestige he gave it, although it was hard to see him raise titles.
“[But] excluding him and me, the best players in the world are Mbappe, Neymar, Hazard, Suarez and Kun [Aguero].”
Messi picked up a record sixth Ballon d’Or in 2019 – and his first since 2015 – when he pipped Virgil van Dijk to the gong.
Ronaldo finished third, his worst result since 2010, as he trails his old rival by one.
But the most recent recipient was Karim Benzema, who could be joining Ronaldo in Saudi Araba after revealing he was quitting Real Madrid.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
