Zinedine Zidane's thoughts on the GOAT debate resurface after meeting with Lionel Messi

Zinedine Zidane's take on the 'greatest of all time' debate has resurfaced after he sat down with eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi this week.

As part of an Adidas event, the former Real Madrid midfielder travelled to Miami to discuss a number of different topics, including why he wore the number 5 shirt at Los Blancos.

Zidane, who is regarded by many as one of the greatest of all time, was even asked to describe Messi in a few words as they sat face-to-face.

“No, it's only one word: magic,” he said. “Me and Leo are not together every day so today is a very important day for me because I can tell him how much I admire him.

“And all the people who like football, and all these players who are different, I think he’s magic, magic in the sense that before receiving the ball, he already knew what needed to be done."

Zidane added: “Especially for me, as someone who understands football, watching you on the field, I almost knew what you were going to do, you know? It was like a connection.

“When I see him doing what he does, I say ‘that’s it’. That’s what people want to see in football, there are only a few of them. There are a few, but not like him. Only a few… Well one.”

After showering praise on Messi, who recently lifted his record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, Zidane's previous comments about Cristiano Ronaldo have emerged.

Back in December 2017, after Ronaldo lifted his fifth Ballon d'Or, then-Real Madrid manager Zidane was asked if he felt his number seven was the best of all time.

"Yes. His numbers speak for it, both in terms of what he has done and what’s still to come,” the Frenchman said.

Image credit: Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty Images

“I want him here forever. He’s really happy in Madrid and he’ll finish his career here, he said it himself. There’s no more words you can use to describe Cristiano. What he does is phenomenal.

“A player could come here, spend 20 years playing in this side and still not achieve what he’s done. I hope he continues making history here until he retires.”

He jokingly added: “I was definitely better! You know what I think, he’s miles better, but I didn’t have a bad career either.”