Micah Richards says ‘world-class’ Man City player is still nowhere near 37-year-old Lionel Messi

It seems like Lionel Messi is still not showing any signs of slowing down at 37 years of age.

In the 2024 regular season, Messi has the most goal contributions (36) out of any player in the MLS (Major League Soccer) — with 20 goals and 16 assists to his name.

The World Cup winner’s most latest outing saw him seal a stunning hat-trick by scoring a volley in Inter Miami’s 6-2 demolition job of New England Revolution.

Josko Gvardiol considers Messi his idol despite the veteran famously dancing past the 22-year-old to assist Julian Alvarez’s second goal in Argentina’s 3-0 thrashing of Croatia in the semi-final of the 2022 World Cup.

Micah Richards says Erling Haaland is still not better than current Lionel Messi

The Argentine seems to be in outstanding form and up there with some of the best players on the planet to this day.

However, the former Paris Saint-Germain forward is no longer playing in Europe, which could discount him from being considered as the best player in the world by many.

But Micah Richards has claimed Messi is still the standout footballer in the game and went as far as to claim that Erling Haaland is still not better than the current iteration of the three-time Champions League winner.

Richard said on The Rest Is Football podcast: “I think he is, I still think he is, he’s still doing things that other players can’t do. Whether it’s touch, technique, scoring goals, finding a pass, international stage.”

“I think we expected [Kylian] Mbappe to be sort of at that level at this moment. He’s still scoring goals for Real Madrid but he’s not really in blistering form. [Erling] Haaland’s not scored for a few weeks. Vinicius Jr is obviously scoring but the position between him and Mbappe, they’re finding it hard to get the balance right.”

Micah Richards added that even his Manchester City teammate Rodri is not a better player than Messi currently.

“Rodri has now got a [anterior] cruciate [ligament injury], so [Lionel] Messi would be my number one.”

In March, Haaland named Messi as the greatest player in history as well.

Craig Burley hailed Haaland as a “world-class player” and his status amongst the best players that the game has to offer cannot be disputed.

Messi predicted Haaland “can compete” for the Ballon d’Or

With the Norwegian dominating European football, Micah Richards’ claim over the Barcelona icon still being a superior player to him could split opinion.

While the Rosario-born attacker’s greatness remains unquestionable, he is currently playing in the MLS while the 24-year-old is arguably playing in the best league in the world.

In October 2023, Messi backed Haaland to contend for the Ballon d’Or after beating him to the award.

“[Erling] Haaland, [Kylian] Mbappe, Vinicius [Jr] and many young players can compete for Ballon d’Or in the next years…”

“I also think that Lamine Yamal, who is still very young and plays for Barcelona, ​​will play a prominent role and fight for it in the future too.”

Haaland will be hoping to win the prestigious award like Messi one day and have a similarly decorated career to him.

With the Manchester City striker being as seemingly ambitious as he is, he must be inspired by how the Inter Miami talisman continues to perform week in and week out.