"Having him as a rival is complicated. You see game after game that it is impossible to take the ball off him, impossible to stop him. There are no words to decribe his talent. For me, and as others have said, he is from another planet."

"It's a gift. I haven’t seen any other player, at least during my career, who plays like Messi does. For me that makes him the best footballer in the world."

"For me, he's the best player in the world. That's football. Defending Messi one-on-one is not possible."

"The best striker I have ever faced? Lionel Messi. It has always been Messi."

"The best player ever? Lionel Messi."

"This award says I’m the best player in the world, but I’m not even the best player at Barcelona."

"I have seen the player who will inherit my place in Argentine football and his name is Messi. Messi is a genius and he can become an even better player. His potential is limitless and I think he’s got everything it takes to become Argentina’s greatest player."

"Leo floats over the field - sometimes you have the sensation he's not even there, that he's hiding. But he's there and the rival knows it."

"Messi is out of this planet, I would say he is so far ahead of the rest of the players playing right now and I would say historically as well. There are not words to describe him."

"For me, to watch Messi play is a pleasure – it's like having an orgasm – it's an incredible pleasure."

"When I see Messi playing, I think he should win the Ballon d'Or every year. I have no doubt. He is an unbelievable player."

"He is an exceptional talent. I still think Diego Maradona is the best player I have ever seen – but Messi is closing in fast. He's a wonderful sight in full flight and we are lucky to have him around."

"Leo is a virtuoso. He does things with the ball that just seem impossible. He's got great ability. His control of the ball when he is running at high speed is excellent. He has a superb shot. There is precision in his passing. To summarise... he's got everything. He has every single attribute you would want to find in a player."

"My record stood for 40 years - 85 goals in 60 games - and now the best player in the world has broken it, and I'm delighted for him. He is an incredible player, gigantic."

"Technically, we’re practically at the same level."

"When it comes down to natural talent there’s no one who’s at Messi’s level."

"Messi is better than Maradona; he is more complete, more consistent, more spectacular. He is reinventing the game – a mix of the real and the virtual."

"I can't believe anyone can have played the game of football as well as Messi."

"I think now he’s probably done more than most players. But he is in the same class as Alfredo de Stefano, Johan Cruyff, Pelé. When he finishes and he retires, he will automatically become one of them. A player that people will talk about forever, while the game of football is as good and as popular as it is. He is a sensational player."

"Messi is Maradona every day. He has played at the level of Maradona in 1986 for the past five years."

"I can only repeat what I have already said before and that is that Messi is the best in the world at the moment. It pains me to admit it, but it’s the simple truth."

"What’s really incredible is his consistency. It’s practically inhuman to keep going like him. What Messi has achieved, far outweighs what Cristiano has done."

"When Messi has the ball at his feet he can do things that you can’t imagine."

"Needless to repeat, that he’s the best player in the world, the best of all-time. I enjoy training with him, he makes everything easier."

"Lionel Messi. Oh... I think this guy is fantastic. He’s the best player I have ever seen in my life."

"He's the best of all time."

"It's impossible to control Leo for 90 minutes."

"Lionel Messi is out of this world, he's an alien. For me, he is the best player in the history of football."

"It's the efficiency that made the difference. Messi is fantastic, the best player ever."

"Messi is God – you see him on the pitch and he is spectacular."

"Messi is class. There is him, and then there is the rest. What he does is extraordinary. He demands admiration."

"He is by far the best player in the world – he’s a one-off."

"Messi is the best, for me, Messi is God, he is the best and always will be – for what he has given the team and for how much he has made me enjoy being in the same team as him."

"Messi is unbelievable. It is great to get the chance to play against the best in the world. It doesn't really need repeating: he is a fantastic player."

"Messi is an alien, that dedicates himself to playing with humans."

"Nobody was so wonderful at 19 years, neither Pele nor Maradona."

"Big congratulations to Messi, the magician, the artist, the genius. What more words can I use to describe this guy? Twenty-seven years old and broken the Champions League record from Raúl. Possibly one of the hardest players I’ve played against in my time in the game. The left foot. It’s beautiful. At the moment this guy’s taking liberties with everyone."

"For years I thought that there would never be a player like Maradona. But now Messi is at his level."

"Messi does not need his right foot. He only uses the left and he's still the best in the world! Imagine if he also used his right foot ... Then we would have serious problems!"

"It’s something for me that I can tell my kids that I’ve played against Messi when we watch him on television. For me he’s got everything. He is magical to watch. When I finish and look back, and he will still be going strong, I will be able to say to myself I tested myself against the best. And quite clearly, for me, he is the best ever. He’s a great individual player but a great person as well and a credit to football."

"He plays like he’s on PlayStation, it’s unbelievable. People who say otherwise either don’t know anything about football or are just talking nonsense."

"Is Messi playing in the Champions League or is he playing a Playstation game?"

"Leo is from another planet. What makes him the best is that other great players have had ups and downs, like Maradona. He wasn’t half of what Leo is at Barça. Messi has had so many good years in his career that he deserves to be considered the best ever."

"I am not crazy enough to compare myself with Messi because he is the best there ever was and the best there will ever be."

"People often say to me they saw Pele and Maradona play. In the future, I will be able to say I saw Messi play."

"Messi is God, as a person and even more as a player."

"There is no doubt, you're from another galaxy. Thanks Leo."