Former Manchester United forward Antonio Valencia believes Lionel Messi is unique as he is touched by God. Messi is regarded as one of the best players of all time along with Cristiano Ronaldo. Both of these players have dominated the sport in the last two decades and have taken the game to new heights.

Valencia has faced Messi quite a few times in his career while playing for both club and country and knows what it is like to face the talisman. The Ecuadorian international has huge respect for Messi and tipped him as the one of the best footballers in the history of the sport.

Speaking to Argentine Sports Outlet, Ole, Valencia said, “Messi is unique; he is touched by God, and we must recognize it. When a player stands out, I like to recognize him, and for me, Messi is one of the best in history. At the time of the Cristiano-Messi rivalry, the bad thing about Cristiano was that Messi was also there.”

Meanwhile, Messi could not hit the ground running at PSG Saint Germain after making a move from Barcelona. Messi scored 11 goals and provided 15 assists for PSG Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 in the previous season and thus failed to live up to the lofty expectations.

Messi had a dream run at Barcelona as he scored 672 goals and lifted 34 titles during his 17-year stint with the Spanish giants. Furthermore, the Argentine ended his International trophy drought as he lead his national team to Copa America glory in 2021.

On the other hand, Valencia is hopeful that Messi will bring his best in the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

“Hopefully Messi has a good World Cup because it could be the last. I hope you enjoy it and also make all the people of Argentina happy.”

Meanwhile, Messi and co. will begin their FIFA World Cup campaign against Saudi Arabia on November 22. Subsequently, they will take on Mexico and Poland in Group C of the tournament.