Barcelona director Deco snubs Messi and Ronaldo, names ex-AC Milan star as best teammate

Barcelona sporting director Deco is one of the few footballers who have had the privilege of playing with both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi; however, when asked about the best teammate he has had, he named neither. 

The 47-year-old played with Messi at Barcelona and was involved in the Argentine's lore from the start. He was famously substituted off for Messi in his Barcelona debut against Espanyol. He also played two major tournaments with Ronaldo with the Portuguese national team. 

However, despite having a pitchside seat at the beginning of both their careers, he picked neither as the best teammate he played with, reserving that honour for Ronaldinho. 

“I played with the first versions of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo [with Portugal]. But, if I had to choose, I would choose Ronaldinho,” he said, per Mundo Deportivo.

“Of those players I played with in my career, Ronaldinho was the best. He had so much technical ability; it was just wow! He did things very different to anyone else. However, the most complete teammate I had was Messi.”

Deco joined Barcelona in 2004 fresh off winning the Champions League with Porto and two seasons later, he won the title with the Blaugrana. 

The Blaugrana were undoubtedly the most dominant club side in the decade between 2005 and 2015, and it all started with Ronaldinho. Brazilian spearheaded things and, with immense contributions from teammates like Deco, Xavi and Samuel Eto'o, began a decade of dominance for the Catalan club.