Marseille’s Leonardo Balerdi: ‘As long as Lionel Messi is playing, no-one is better than him.’ | OneFootball

Olympique de Marseille come up against Real Madrid in their UEFA Champions League opener on Tuesday night. The tie will see OM captain Leonardo Balerdi come up against Kylian Mbappé.

Balerdi was asked about Mbappé in the pre-match press conference and whether the France captain was currently the best player in the world. His response was an unequivocal ‘no’.

“For me, as long as Lionel Messi continues playing, no one is better than him,” said Balerdi of his compatriot. Balerdi and Messi have shared the same pitch as teammates on four occasions for Argentina. All four of those games came in the 2023/24 season.

Messi now plays his football over in the MLS with Inter Miami, and recently cast doubt on whether he would continue playing international football ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

Meanwhile, Mbappé is playing at Real Madrid and captains Les Bleus. Despite a prolific 2024/25 campaign, the Frenchman, however, is not in the running for the Ballon d’Or, which will be awarded next week. His compatriot, Ousmane Dembélé, is the favourite for the award.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle