Benfica's Pablo Aimar: Barcelona's Lionel Messi is at the same level as Diego Maradona
Benfica playmaker Pablo Aimar believes Barcelona star Lionel Messi is as good now as Argentina legend Diego Maradona was in his prime.
Messi broke into Barca's senior ranks in 2004, has won several individual awards, such as the FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or honours, and is now widely considered to be the best player in the world. Former Argentina coach Maradona has often praised the 24-year-old, proclaiming him as his true successor, and Aimar believes that comparisons between the two are justified. "For several years, I thought there would not be another player like Maradona," Aimar told A BOLA. "And now I see that Messi is on a par him with and with the best of all time. "In the hearts of the Argentine people and of those who like football, there is a place for the two." The 32-year-old playmaker also praised Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, but claims the Portugal international falls short of Messi. "Cristiano Ronaldo's statistics are from a different time," Aimar noted. "More than 50 goals in a season? That is absurd. "You cannot score 50 goals every year, but Cristiano continues to do it. Those are statistics from a different time. "I have no doubt that, if there was no Messi, Cristiano would be the best player in the world by a big margin." Aimar, who played in Spain for seven years in spells at Valencia and Zaragoza, believes La Liga's big two, Madrid and Barca, are well ahead of the rest in Europe. "I believe that if Chelsea, Manchester United, AC Milan, Inter or Bayern Munich, for example, played in the same league as Real Madrid and Barcelona, they would always finish below them," he explained. [Goal.com]