Liverpool and England star Trent Alexander-Arnold has named Argentina’s Lionel Messi as the best player he has ever seen, Soccernet.football reports.
Alexander-Arnold, who broke into Liverpool’s first team in 2016, became a crucial player under manager Jurgen Klopp before the German manager left Anfield this summer.
He was made Liverpool’s vice-captain at the start of the 2023/24 season following the departures of Jordan Henderson and James Milner, with Virgil van Dijk taking on the captaincy.
In a recent interview with the Daily Mirror, Alexander-Arnold praised Messi’s unparalleled talent, pointing at him as the best player he played against.
He said: “It has to be Messi for me. The best player I’ve played. The best player that’s ever played the game. To imagine anyone better than what I’ve been able to see, my brain doesn’t comprehend it. There’s no way anyone can be better.”
Alexander-Arnold continued: “Lionel Messi is the greatest to ever play this game. There’s just a different feeling playing against him that I’ve never felt with anyone else.
“You’re always on red alert when the ball is near him, I think it’s very rare for a player to kind of put that feeling into other players so, for that reason, I have to say it’s him.”
He added: “For me, I think in many, many aspects of the game, he’s probably the best at any given moment, he can almost do what he wants on a football pitch so for that reason he’s the best.”
When asked about the best player he has worked with, Alexander-Arnold singled out Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
He said: “Just his consistency, from the minute he first came in to this very day. The consistency, he’s never dropped, ever. I think it’s remarkable what he goes and does and achieves, and a testament to his hard work and to his dedication to the game and to his craft that I’m able to witness on a daily basis.
“Just that relentless drive of pushing himself day by day to get better and improve and break every record in sight.”
Messi led Argentina to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup before captaining the side to glory at the Copa America this month.
Following Argentina’s triumph at the Copa, the former Barcelona playmaker, with 45 honours, is now the player with the most titles in football history.