“Best player who has ever walked the planet” – Former Liverpool star makes big claim about Lionel Messi

Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has lavished praise on Lionel Messi while naming him among the best players he’s played against. Crouch played 135 games for the Reds, scoring 42 goals and winning one FA Cup and one English Super Cup with them.

Lionel Messi is considered by many as one of the greatest players to have ever played the game. The Argentine has built up an astonishing repertoire of personal and collective accolades over the last two decades including eight Ballons d’Or, four UEFA Champions League titles, four The Best FIFA Men’s Player titles, three UEFA Best Player in Europe titles, six European Golden Boots, two Copa Americas, and one FIFA World Cup among others.

In a video released by SPORTbible on October 8, Peter Crouch created two five-a-side teams. The first one consisted of the best players he’s played with and the other has the best players he’s played against.

Crouch chose Peter Cech as the man between the sticks in the team consisting of his best opponents. The other four players are Tony Adams, Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Talking about Lionel Messi, Crouch described him as the best player to have ever played the game. He further stressed the honor of having shared the pitch with the Argentine legend.

“The best player who has ever walked the planet. Played against him when he was at Barcelona. We actually won in Camp Nou… The fact to have been on the same pitch as Lionel Messi, or to watch him for a game, I think in 10, 20, 30 years’ time you could tell your grandkids that you saw Messi play. I think that’s the kind of level of what we are watching,” said Peter Crouch.

Watch the video below (6:40):

The English striker came up against Lionel Messi only twice in his career, in the two legs of the UEFA Champions League 2006-07 Round of 16. While Peter Crouch’s Liverpool won 2-1 at Camp Nou, Messi’s Barcelona won their away leg by a solitary goal.

When Lionel Messi claimed that he had achieved “everything” in football following his 2022 World Cup win

In a 2023 interview with ESPN Argentina, Lionel Messi expressed his gratitude after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina. The Argentine captain said (via GOAL):

“I was lucky to achieve everything at the club level in Barcelona and also at the individual level. It [the World Cup] was the only one I was missing. There are few players who can say they achieved everything. And thank God I’m one of them.”

Talking about the struggles in his way, Messi added:

“With effort, sacrifice, work, and humility, in the end, you achieve your goals. The road can be hard, but you have to keep fighting for your dreams to try to achieve them. Sometimes it happens, other times it doesn’t, but you never have to stop to try it. I love playing ball, I love coming to the national team, I love being on the premises and before I couldn’t enjoy it like today.”

Lionel Messi’s success with La Albiceleste came after a barrage of heartbreaks with the national team. The Argentine even declared his retirement from international football following his 2016 Copa America final loss against Chile.

However, he came back from retirement and has now won three consecutive major international trophies for his country – the 2022 FIFA World Cup and two Copa Americas (2021 and 2024). They also won the Finalissima against Italy in 2022.