Barcelona

Pep Guardiola says there's no debate between Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi

Published Dec. 25, 2016 12:45 p.m. ET

Aaron West

There's no question in Pep Guardiola's mind who the best in the world is.

The former Barcelona man may be biased, considering he coached Leo Messi for his entire four-year tenure at the Nou Camp, with the little Argentine helping him to a number of trophies in his time on the Barcelona bench. Still, he's seen Ronaldo up close and personal, coming up against him on multiple occasions over the years, and he thinks there's no comparison between the two.

Current Barça coach Luis Enrique recently told Barça TV it was "ridiculous" to compare Messi with other players, and Guardiola agrees.

"I agree with Luis. Messi is the best, he is definitely the best," the Manchester City manager said in a pre-match conference ahead of the Blues' match against Hull City. "He knows how to play, score and make the other players play. He is always there.

"With all the respect to all the players, first to Cristiano Ronaldo -- congratulations to him for the award -- I think Messi is on another level."

Whatever Guardiola and Enrique believe, Ronaldo's still the reigning top man in Europe. He's got the trophies to back it up, but it has to sting a bit that the two men still ride for Messi that hard.

Maybe a fifth Ballon d'Or in 2017 will help ease the disrespect.

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