Messi Names His Idols from Different Sports 0 11

“For us Argentinians, Maradona has always been the greatest idol and has evoked the most admiration. Diego went beyond all limits. Speaking about other sports, obviously the same happened with [Michael] Jordan. I have great respect for tennis players like [Roger] Federer, Rafa [Nadal], and [Novak] Djokovic, and I think all three have raised the competition to a much higher level,” Messi said in an interview with NBC News.

Among basketball players, the Argentine also highlighted LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

The 38-year-old Messi is an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and a six-time Golden Shoe winner. Throughout his career, he has played for Barcelona, PSG, and in 2023 joined Inter Miami from MLS. With Barcelona, the forward won the Spanish championship 10 times and the Champions League four times, and with PSG, he became the Ligue 1 champion twice. As part of the Argentina national team, Messi became an Olympic champion and a world champion.