Pablo Aimar is one of the greatest Argentine players of all time. The two time La Liga winner made his name at Valencia, Benfica, and River Plate with his brilliant dribbling and playmaking ability. Nicknamed El Payaso (the clown) he was idolized by children across Argentina, and one of those kids was Lionel Messi.
Messi, arguably the greatest player of all time, has repeatedly gone on record saying that Aimar is one of his greatest idols, and for those needing further proof, I present this gif:
Aimar, who retired this past summer, has also grown to admire Messi, as well. Speaking to Goal, Aimar described what makes Lionel Messi so special and compared him to the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan.
"I think that he thinks and acts at the same moment. Or maybe he even acts before he thinks. But the amazing thing is that, be it a final, semi-final or whatever, he plays knowing that he can decide the game."
"I think that is what [Michael] Jordan used to do, he used to say he had missed more shots than he had made, but he shot all the same in order to win. Federer is another monster. They play a match and go for the lines knowing they could miss, but knowing as well as if they win it is for them, and if they lose too.”
"Messi is like Jordan."
While Messi has already won pretty much everything that there is to win, hearing his idol shower him with such high praise has to feel good.
It might even make him forget about the fact that he and Barcelona lost out on the chance to win back-to-back Champions Leagues.
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