Former Manchester United winger Nani has named Ronaldinho as the best player in football history, with Fenerbahce teammate Robin van Persie picking Diego Maradona.
Ronaldinho was the star player in world football through the mid-2000s as his Barcelona side started to dominate Spain and even Europe, winning the Champions League in 2006 against Arsenal in Paris.
The Brazilian came to fame during the early-2000s. In terms of memorable moments, he scored an incredible free kick against David Seaman in the World Cup as Brazil went on to lift the trophy for a fifth time in 2002.
A move to Barcelona came the year after as he showcased his talents in France for Paris Saint-Germain, but he’s now nearing the end of his career and is still admired for his ability.
Nani, who played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo for Man United and still does for the Portugal national team, believes the former Brazil international is the best ever, as opposed to more typical answers such as Pele, Lionel Messi
or Diego Maradona – who was picked by Van Persie.
“Ronaldinho, because when he was at his best nobody could compare,” Nani said, when asked who the best player ever was during a Facebook Q&A for Uefa.
“He always had a smile on his face as well. He had skill, scored fantastic goals and put magic into the game.”
Naturally, Ronaldinho is not the player he once was but he dazzled world football for several years as his Barcelona side featuring a young Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Deco started to imprint their style on the European game – and the Brazilian was the forefront to their success.
Van Persie, meanwhile, was asked the same question, but he came up with a different answer and believes Maradona is the greatest to ever play the game.
Van Persie said: “Diego Maradona. I’ve met him a couple of times. He’s a very special person, very warm. What he did was unbelievable.”
Messi would have something to say to both of those answers, given his ground-breaking performances and numbers of the past decade, though many people already believe the Argentine is the best player ever.
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