‘My God, who is this?’: Roberto Carlos recalls facing Leo Messi for the first time

“When Messi dribbled past Cannavaro and me and ran over us, and the match ended, I turned to Cannavaro and said: ‘My God, who is this player? He’s the new Maradona,'” Roberto Carlos has told 90Min.

“I’m lucky. I don’t have much time left before I retire. How will the next generation of defenders cope? They’ll really struggle with him. I knew he’d be the best player in the world. In the future, he would win everything. I’m happy because I watched him more than I played against him,” the legendary Brazilian added.

Roberto Carlos faced Leo Messi just twice in his career – in 2005/06 and 2006/07, losing the first El Clasico 3-0 and winning the second 2-0. In 2007, the Brazilian left Real Madrid for Fenerbahce, so he was indeed lucky to avoid Leo in the future!

Still, it is really pleasing that a true Madridista, who is also their board member, says such big words about the Argentine.