Riquelme on Lionel Messi: Not sure he is greater than Maradona

Juan Román Riquelme praised Lionel Messi following Argentina's journey to the 2026 World Cup final, and even hinted that the captain might have surpassed Diego Maradona, but refused to declare that he is "greater than him" or indeed the best footballer of all time. The president of Boca Juniors also praised Lionel Scaloni before giving his opinion on Argentina's loss to Spain.

While the world has already crowned Messi as the "greatest of all time," Riquelme praises Messi but is not rushing to decide.

"We were all lucky enough to see Messi," Riquelme said cautiously. "When we had Maradona, we thought there would not be another one like him, and then he appeared, and he even makes us wonder if he is better."

He also praised Scaloni's achievements and said: "Scaloni is among the best in the history of our football. We are grateful for the joy that he, his coaching staff, and the players have given us. It makes me very happy because we all grew up together; Scaloni, Walter Samuel, and Pablo Aimar have known each other since we were 14, and Roberto Ayala and I traveled together to the 2006 World Cup."

Riquelme refused to label the current squad as the country's best, and instead paid tribute to every generation that brought success. He thanked the legendary coaches including Carlos Bilardo, César Luis Menotti, Alfio Basile, and Scaloni, while also acknowledging Mario Kempes' role in Argentina's 1978 World Cup win, even though he never saw him play.

"Bilardo, Menotti, Scaloni, Basile... all the coaches who won and brought joy to the country, we must thank them, and also the players who won in every era," he added. "Winning is not easy. Maradona was something incredible, and Messi is something incredible. I cannot talk about the Kempes era because I was just born in '78, when Kempes and all his teammates gave us the World Cup.

"I didn't see him play, but from what I hear, he was excellent, and he was critical in that World Cup. I think it is a duty to thank everyone. We are lucky that we were able to see them all play, but as an Argentine, I must thank them for all the joy they have given us."