Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti refused to admit Lionel Messi is the greatest footballer of all time after being pressed for his opinion.
Football fans have long argued which player is the greatest of all time - or "GOAT" - with Messi in that conversation. Other candidates include Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Zinedine Zidane and Pele - who sadly passed away aged 82 on Thursday.
Many supporters believe the debate was settled by Argentina's victory against France in the World Cup final earlier this month. Messi has now won virtually everything in the game - including 11 league titles, four Champions Leagues and seven Ballon d'Ors.
Yet Ancelotti was not interested in calling Messi the GOAT when asked. He also failed to name Real's record scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, who is searching for a new club, while discussing the topic - although he did mention current Ballon d'Or holder Karim Benzema.
"It's hard to say," Ancelotti told reporters, as quoted by GOAL. "He's [Messi] a great footballer. His career is spectacular but if he's the best in history, I don't know because each era has had very important players. Saying that he's been the best in history isn't going to come out of my mouth."
Ancelotti added: "I have enjoyed all the players and now I have a Ballon d'Or [winner] every day here [Benzema]. I have seen Maradona and Cruyff and I have enjoyed them."
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Despite Ancelotti's comments, Ronaldo will consider himself firmly in the GOAT conversation. He has claimed the Ballon d'Or five times after winning seven league titles, five Champions Leagues and other honours. He also inspired Portugal to glory at Euro 2016.
Benzema, meanwhile, will be remembered as one of the best players of his generation but is unlikely to go down as an all-time great. He has won more than most - including eight league titles - but does not come close to the achievements of Messi or Ronaldo.
In terms of some of the other candidates, Maradona will forever be remembered fondly for leading Argentina to glory at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. He also inspired Napoli to their only Serie A titles during the 1986-97 and 1989-90 campaigns.
Cruyff is another GOAT candidate after winning three European Cups at Ajax and becoming a focal point of the Netherlands' "Total Football" philosophy. Yet the Dutchman never won the World Cup, losing the 1974 final 2-1 to West Germany in Munich.
In regards to Zidane, the Frenchman is one of the few players to win the World Cup, Ballon d'Or and Champions League during his career. Perhaps the scoring achievements of Messi, Ronaldo, Maradona and Pele overshadow Zidane's talent.
Speaking of Pele, the Brazilian hero is the only man in history to win three World Cups. It's hard to imagine anyone matching that remarkable feat, although Kylian Mbappe - who is still only 24 - will try his best to do so in the years to come.
