Carlo Ancelotti on Lionel Messi: “I don’t know if he is the best ever.”

Speaking ahead of Real Madrid’s trip to Real Valladolid, Carlo Ancelotti was asked about Lionel Messi being the best player of all time.

“It’s difficult to say. I don’t know if he is the best ever. It’s not so fair to say that, because every era has very good players. It won’t come out of my mouth ‘Messi is the best ever’. I’ve enjoyed so many good players…. I train the Ballon d’Or winner every day. And I’ve seen Cruyff play, Maradona,” he said in quotes picked up by Marca.

On Karim Benzema

“He came back on the 10th from holiday. He worked with the team and in the friendlies, he played half an hour and 45 minutes. I think he is going to show all his quality.”

On Eden Hazard

“He has trained well. He’s looking better than before the World Cup. He has done a good job and I will use the whole squad.”

The difficulty after the World Cup

“It’s a calendar that demands a lot. We have the Spanish Super Cup and the Club World Cup. We have a lot of games until March and we have to make a personal assessment of the players. We have to get the players in good condition. We have to give the World Cup players a rest. There are no more days off. Up until 19 February, we will play every three days.”

GSFN | Kieran Quaile

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