Diego Maradona: I told Barcelona's Lionel Messi to believe he is better than Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, and now he is

Diego Maradona has stated that he urged countryman Lionel Messi to fight off competition from Cristiano Ronaldo to be the best player in the world, and the Barcelona attacker has followed his advice.

The Argentina international beat the Real Madrid man to the Ballon D'Or award in both 2009 and 2010, making amends for the former Manchester United forward winning the title back in 2008.

Messi's rise to superstar status has gone hand in hand with his club's dominance of European football, and Maradona has said that he told his compatriot to stay at the pinnacle of the world game.

"Messi is a great guy and deserves it," the 50-year-old is reported to have said to Sport. "When he first beat Ronaldo, afterwards I told him 'you must make sure you keep him in second place'. And last year he [Ronaldo] finished second again."

The debate over who is the best player on the planet rages on, but Messi's back-to-back Ballon d'Or accolades and his club's mantle as European champion have boosted the claims of Maradona that he can now be recognized as the world's No.1.