Cristiano Ronaldo’s former teammate: My idol is Messi! Everyone respects Messi!

November 21st. Many colleagues came out to praise Messi, including but not limited to "Round God" Anthony, Real Salt Lake City, and former Paris Saint-Germain executives Leonardo, Vidal and Tenkat.

C Ronaldo's former teammate Anthony was interviewed. The reporter said that because Anthony scored many top ten goals at Betis, he got a good reputation. Combined with Messi's name, he is "Lionel Anthony" (equivalent to "Yuan Shen" in the Chinese context). Among them, the goal against Lyon is very similar to Messi's goal in 2007. Anthony first talked about himself and his teammates, and then said that Messi has always been his idol, and it was great to be able to replicate Messi's goals. I have followed Messi since I was a child. Messi's career is incredible. Everyone respects Messi, and I am certainly no exception. Messi has always purely loved football.

When Ronaldo's former teammate Anthony at Manchester United said frankly, "Messi has always been my idol and everyone respects him." The Brazilian international who rose in La Liga revealed an unspoken consensus in contemporary football. In the locker room of professional football, the opposition between camps and competitive rivalries have never obscured people's awareness of true greatness - even players who have worked with Ronaldo can transcend the boundaries of club loyalty and offer the purest respect to Messi. Anthony's statement is by no means an isolated case, it is just the tip of the iceberg, revealing a common sentiment across the entire football world: Messi has won absolute respect beyond friends and foes with his excellence and purity for more than two decades.

This respect exists not only between individual players, but also in the behavior of tournament organizers and rival clubs. The Major League Baseball team Real Salt Lake City directly defined the pre-sale of next April's game on social media as "the first visit in history." The marketing strategy of building momentum for an away team player six months in advance is rare in the history of professional sports. The management of this team is well aware of a reality: Messi's appearance has transcended the scope of ordinary sports competitions and has become a cultural feast worth booking in advance. This phenomenon of treating the athletes themselves as the core selling point confirms the uniqueness of Messi's influence.

From Chilean star Vidal's blind selection ranking of No. 10 players - Messi appeared very early and was placed first by him. We can get a glimpse of the real evaluation system of the professional player group. In this list that places Messi above Pele and Maradona, there are no considerations of club politics, no interference of national emotions, only the judgment of pure football skills. Vidal's choice represents the collective understanding of football history among contemporary professional players - in their eyes, Messi is not only the best No. 10, but also the most complete artist in the history of this sport.

The memories of former Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo and the advice of former Barcelona coach Tencart complete Messi’s legendary narrative from different aspects. Leonardo revealed that Messi "originally wanted to stay at Barcelona", which pointed out the emotion-driven nature of the star's career; and Tencart's aphorism "never compare players" just reflects that Messi has become the absolute benchmark that cannot be compared. In the narratives of these football industry insiders, Messi's greatness not only stems from his talent and achievements, but also from his consistent purity - in this sports era that is wrapped up in business and politics, he still maintains the most authentic love for football, and this may be the ultimate password for him to conquer everyone.