Ancelotti refuses to say Messi is the best in history
"It's difficult to comment," Ancelotti said on December 29 in a press conference before the match against Valladolid in the 15th round of La Liga. "Messi is a great player with a very spectacular career. But I don't know if Messi is the greatest player in history, because every era has different good players."
The Italian coach said he has enjoyed following many stars throughout his career, such as the two late legends Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff. He also mentioned being able to lead Karim Benzema - the winner of the 2022 Ballon d'Or, watching him train and compete every day.
"I would never say Messi is the best in history," Ancelotti insisted.
At the 2022 World Cup, Messi scored seven goals, including a brace in the final against France, helping Argentina win the Gold Cup for the third time. As a result, the Argentine captain was awarded the World Cup Golden Ball - the award for the best player in the tournament at Qatar 2022, and won the best player award five times.
After the tournament in Qatar ended, former defender Jamie Carragher wrote on Twitter that Messi had risen to become the greatest player in history, ahead of Diego Maradona, Pele, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane. Many also agree with this assessment.
England midfielder Declan Rice thinks humanity will probably never see a player as brilliant as Messi. Hockey star Sam Quek emphasized that the years-long debate about the greatest football player in history has officially ended. Tennis player Andy Murray praised Messi as the best athlete in the history of sports, not just in football.
Benzema also received a lot of attention at the 2022 World Cup, despite not playing a minute. Due to conflicts with coach Didier Deschamps and many teammates, the 35-year-old striker left the team before the start of the tournament and returned to Real. He also refused the invitation of the French Football Federation (FFF) and French President Emmanuel Macron, to play and attend the final, despite recovering from injury.
Ancelotti did not talk about conflicting rumors with France, believing that Benzema remains highly motivated and will help Real in the second half of the season. The Italian coach said that the student felt fine, played the first half of the practice match between Real and Leganes on December 15 and was ready to "show all his qualities". He also praised Eden Hazard for training well, reaching a higher level than the 2022 World Cup and will be given the opportunity to show.
In the first half of the season, Real won the El Clasico match, but only won one of the last three matches, and lost the top of La Liga to Barca. In the Champions League, the royal team tops in the group stage and will meet Liverpool in the round of 16, while Barca must go down to the Europa League.
Ancelotti said Real is about to experience a tight schedule and the planning is very complicated. "We have to keep the players in good shape," said the 63-year-old coach. "We have to rest the players at the 2022 World Cup, when Real have to play every three days until the end of February."
