Messi vs Maradona: Mikel Obi and Ex-Barcelona star discuss Argentina GOAT

Former England international striker Gary Lineker attempted to pick the superior player between Lionel Messi and Diego Armando Maradona after making a case that both players were the greatest footballers in history. 

The British broadcaster appeared on the recent episode of the Obi One podcast, hosted by Super Eagles legend John Mikel Obi. The ex-Chelsea man, knowing Lineker placed both Maradona and Messi on a pedestal, challenged the former BBC Match of the Day host to pick the superior player. 

The former Leicester City striker employed poise and care in his response, ensuring to make a nuanced argument. He posited that both players were equal at their peak levels but eventually conceded that Messi's longevity and passing range put him ahead. 

“It would be almost impossible to choose if you took them both at their absolute prime,” Maradona told Mikel. “Now I think it's, if you ask me who's the greatest player ever, I think that's a different answer.

“I think you have to take into account. The longevity and also the fact that Diego had his problems off the pitch, which led to him not performing as well as he possibly could on all occasions on the pitch.

“He had a period of time where he was incredible, and, and Messi would be this, in terms of their abilities, very similar. You have to remember that Maradona was kicked up in the air constantly. In those day,s you could get away with that sort of stuff, playing on these awful surfaces that were the same, whereas now it's so much easier.

“Buttaking all that into account, I don't think there's very much to choose between them. Except, I don't know, I think I never thought I'd see a player that's better than Diego, but I think in Messi we do, we have. Messi's extraordinary passing range – and I mean, Diego used to see things, but Messi sees things that you can only see from above. 

“It's extraordinary some of the passes he picks out; his vision is just simply outrageous, and I, you know, they are my best. It's mad, isn't it, that the best two players I think of – I wouldn't say all the time because I didn't see much of Pele, I only caught the end of his career, and you can only really judge players that you've seen constantly.

“I just never thought that anyone would compete with Diego, but those two, they do things that are extraordinary and, and I think Messi, given the fact that he's done it for 20 years and he's still doing it now, you know, and, he's won everything, everything.”