Johan Cruyff has told a new film on Barcelona forward Lionel Messi that he is grateful the Argentina captain exists.
Sport reports Cruyff as saying that if Messi hadn’t come along, football would still be eulogising past stars.
“That God there is Messi. If he didn’t exist we would still be talking about [Diego] Maradona, which is absurd,” the former Barca player and Coach said.
“Therefore he shouldn’t be compared, just enjoyed.”
Cruyff is one of a number of football figures interviewed for the film, which was released yesterday in Rio de Janeiro, and also has contributions from Cesar Luis Menotti, Javier Mascherano and Messi’s family, friends and former Coaches.
