LIONEL MESSI did not pick Cristiano Ronaldo in his top five-a-side team, featuring Eden Hazard and French World Cup-winner Kylian Mbappe.
But the Barcelona star thinks him and the Juve ace are still world’s best players.
Messi’s goals were voted by the Catalans’ fans as three greatest strikes in the club’s history in March 2019.
Stunningly, his top five-a-side team features neither him nor his ex-Real Madrid nemesis Ronaldo.
But he picked his former team-mate Neymar and Barca striker Luis Suarez, while his countryman Sergio Aguero also made the cut.
The Argentine also appreciated the efforts of Hazard and Mbappe – with the former earning a move to Real Madrid from Chelsea in the summer of 2019.
However, the Barcelona maestro believes him and the Juve ace have not been dethroned as world’s best players just yet.
Messi also said he enjoyed competing with Ronaldo in LaLiga, although less so when the Portuguese star was winning medals at his expense.
He told Marca: “It was nice to have Cristiano Ronaldo in LaLiga because of the prestige he gave him, 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, a year after losing out to Luka Modric.
The Croatian enjoyed a fine year in 2018, winning the Champions League with Real Madrid and reaching the World Cup final.
