Barca Coach Says Messi And Iniesta Are Better Than Kaka And Ronaldo:

Messi and Iniesta combine for that beautiful, stunning game-winning goal against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final:




Barca’s assistant coach, Tito Vilanova:

“They are strengthening their squad and Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka are both great players. But it is something that they had to do because they lost ground on us last season.

“Besides, we have Iniesta, the best midfielder in the world and Messi, the best forward. In my opinion, they are better than Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo,” he boomed proudly. (Source)

Here's where the four players stand in bestplayerintheworld.com world-wide-fan-voting as of 630pm Eastern Standard Time on Friday June 19, 2009:

1. Lionel Messi 46% (928 votes)

2. Cristiano Ronaldo 22% (456 votes)

Steven Gerrard 7% (145 votes)

4. Andres Iniesta 4% (77 votes)

Fernando Torres 3% (60 votes)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic 2% (46 votes)

7. Kaka 2% (43 votes)

Frank Lampard 2% (35 votes)
Wayne Rooney 1% (28 votes)
Ronaldinho 1% (27 votes)
Andrei Arshavin 1% (22 votes)
Nemanja Vidic 1% (15 votes)
Franck Ribery 1% (16 votes)
Didier Drogba 1% (14 votes)
Xavi Hernandez 1% (13 votes)
Robinho 1% (14 votes)
Iker Casillas 1% (11 votes)
Cesc Fabregas 1% (13 votes)
Arjen Robben <1% (9 votes)
Samuel Eto'o 1% (11 votes)
Luka Modric 1% (15 votes)
Petr Cech <1% (6 votes)
David Villa <1% (9 votes)
Emmanuel Adebayor <1% (5 votes)
Gianluigi Buffon <1% (6 votes)
Sergio (Kun) Aguero <1% (5 votes)
Ashley Young <1% (7 votes)

Total Votes: 2036

Beyond The Hype: Barcelona Fans Think Iniesta Is Better Than Messi:

"Barcelona FC fans haven't chosen Lionel Messi as best player of the season that has seen their team win the historical "triplet" (three trophies: League, Cup and Champion's League).

The Argentine soccer genius appears second, just after Iniesta. It is a surprise to many as Messi is seen as the player having the most chances of winning the next Golden Ball, given to the season's best player in the world.

"More than 15 000 people voted on the newspaper's website. Voters are asked to give a mark between 0 and 10 for every player of the team. Iniesta is leading with an average of 8.4. Messi, second, received an average of 8.3 points." (Source)

After Rome: Rooney Calls Iniesta The Best Player In The World

"They are a brilliant team and I think Iniesta is the best player in the world at the moment." (Source)

Desailly Wants The World To Forget About Messi And Ronaldo And Focus On Others:

"They're top players but neither of them are bigger than their own team" he added.

"They are two elements that can make the difference, but at this level you don't really have one player who can be decisive, [you win] collectively. It will be very difficult for those two because they're under a lot of pressure.

"Let's forget about them; you have Andres Iniesta, who is a magic player, you have Wayne Rooney who is a world-class player already. These are beautiful things that you have to see as well." (Source)

Balague Claims Iniesta is Best Footballer on Planet Earth

Ray Hudson:

"...reading claims by a wonderful writer Guillem Balague, a wonderful authority on Spanish football. And he is actually raising Iniesta to be the best footballer on planet earth. There's not a lot of people who would agree with him but I think there's a good few of us and are growing that would agree with him."

(Source: Setanta broadcast of El Classico May 2, 2009)

mejorjugadordelmundo.com

Making the case for Iniesta

Sulmaan Ahmad of Goal.com examines Eto'o statement that Iniesta and not Messi is the best player in the world and concludes:

"Many of the above are naturally gifted in ways Iniesta never will be - they will hit their heights and surpass the little Barca boy - but they will also have their weaker moments; and at present, Iniesta has a cast-iron case to be in contention for the Ballon d'Or, with only his other pale, shy and awkward-looking team-mate standing in his way.

The shame of the game is that he's unlikely to make the list because he hasn't been anointed as any kind of 'special one' by the mass media - his hype hasn't and probably never will spin out of all control and reason - and is thus he is a lot more likely to continue his incredible work in relative obscurity. Maybe it's for the better." (Source)

Eto'o says that Iniesta is the Best Player in the World

Our poll numbers show otherwise but after Barca took apart Sevilla the other day, Samuel Eto'o concluded that Andres Iniesta and not teammate Lionel Messi, is the Best Player in the World.

Here's what Eto'o said:

“Whenever Iniesta steps on to the pitch, he creates a spectacle. He is the best player in the world,” he told the club’s official website after the game. (Source)

This is not a new idea. Others have seen the quality of Iniesta before. He really could be the world's best player. But he's not a player that seems to get the plaudits needed for such a grand title.

Check this out:

Humble Gerrard Doesn't Believe he is Best

"It's very flattering and it makes me smile when people talk well about my game and how I'm performing," he said in a Champions League special on Setanta Ireland.

"But I don't agree with being the best midfielder in the world. There's a lot of fantastic midfield players out there and it's very nice to be talked about in terms of those top players.

"The players I admire now are playing at Barcelona. Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Xavi. They are the players I watch who really excite me and I think to myself they're on a different level to all other footballers out there."

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