Paris - Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic heaped praise on his former team-mate Lionel Messi on Monday, but insisted it was too soon to describe the Argentine as the greatest player of all time.
Messi, who turns 26 this year, scored his 43rd goal of the season in La Liga at the weekend, becoming the first player ever to score against every other team in the league in consecutive games.
The Argentine has broken endless goalscoring records in recent times and will be Barcelona's principal threat when the Catalans take on Ibrahimovic and PSG in the Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
“I think today for sure Messi is the best player in the world,” said Ibrahimovic, who played alongside the reigning world player of the year at the Camp Nou in the 2009-10 season.
“He has been winning this golden ball for so long now (he has won it four times in a row), maybe they should change it's name to Messi from the Ballon d'Or.
“He breaks every record there is and is still young, but is he the best ever?
“I think he has to quit football and then you can say if he is the best there has been. We can talk about it now, but when he quits playing I will answer.”
Sapa-AFP