Zlatan Ibrahimovic: '' Ronaldo is a lucky guy. Always gets first row tickets to see Messi win his awards.''

Mario Balotelli: “There's only one that is a little stronger than me — Messi. All the others are behind me.”

Andrea Pirlo: “I don't believe that I can win the Ballon d'Or — not while Lionel Messi is around.”

"I hope Maradona can forgive me, but I think Messi's goal is even better.”
—Deco

"I have seen the player who will inherit my place in Argentine football and his name is Messi.”
—Diego Maradona

“Once he's on the run, Messi is unstoppable. He's the only player who can change direction at such a pace.”
—Arsene Wenger

Alex Ferguson: “He's won the Ballon d'Or 4 years in a row, quite rightly because the goals he’s scoring is uncanny. He's only 25 — Christ!”

“What Leo does is so incredible that I have to be careful not to stand still watching him make his moves.”
—Thierry Henry

Jürgen Klopp: “Cristiano Ronaldo is so fast, so strong, so incredible, but he has one problem — Leo Messi. Cristiano reminds me of... .German tennis player Michael Stich. He was destined to make history, but then Boris Becker showed up.”

Filippo Inzaghi (2006 FIFA World Cup Winner): “No one is born with the talent that Lionel Messi has.”

Antonio Conte: “The only way to stop Messi is with a gun.”

Luiz Felipe Scolari: “The only bad thing about Ronaldo's life is Messi.”

"Leo simply goes one way with his body and another with the ball. You have to either guess right or foul him.”
—Gerard Piqué

Happy birthday Messi