Paolo Maldini, the former AC Milan and Italy defender, excluded Cristiano Ronaldo when reflecting on the best players he encountered during his illustrious 25-year career filled with trophies.
Maldini, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest defenders in history, amassed 902 appearances for his childhood club AC Milan before retiring in 2009.
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Throughout his tenure, he faced off against football legends such as Ronaldinho and Ronaldo Nazario, both of whom regarded Maldini as the most formidable defender they ever played against.
Ronaldinho expressed awe at how Maldini “effortlessly made it all look” on the field, a sentiment echoed by Ronaldo, his former Milan teammate.
In a recent documentary centered on Ronaldo titled ‘The Phenomenon,’ Maldini identified the former Brazilian striker as one of the three greatest players he had witnessed in his career.
In addition to Ronaldo Nazario, the former captain of Italy also included the Argentine duo of Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona in his esteemed list.
Notably, Maldini never faced off against Messi during his playing days, but the Argentine’s impact was evident even from the sidelines.
In a separate interview, he said: “First of all, I have had the chance to play against great, great players and I think the best ones were, of course, [Diego] Maradona when he played for Napoli and Ronaldo when he played for Inter.”
He added: “I didn’t play against Messi because he was injured, thank God he was injured.”
A reporter pointed out that Messi was lucky to have never come up against Maldini, who said: “No, no, I was lucky.”
In 2020, during his tenure as AC Milan’s technical director, Maldini attempted to entice Messi to join the San Siro, but his endeavors proved futile.
“When I read that Messi could go to Inter, I was furious,” he told the PoretCast podcast.
“For 10 days I tried to bring him to Milan, but then we realized that it was impossible. I think a player like him is a show for everyone, even if it’s late. This man is capable of doing things that always surprise.”
