Brazil icon Ronaldo names Lionel Messi and three other superstars as ‘the top’ players in the world

Brazil legend Ronaldo still believes Lionel Messi is at the top of his game alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and two others.

Messi bagged the best men's player of the year at the FIFA Best Awards, edging Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to the prize.

And speaking before the event, Ronaldo revealed how Messi is still in his peak.

"He is special to everyone. Even to us in Brazil, we admire him so much," the Real Madrid and Inter Milan legend said.

"He has a great career still, doing well with Inter Miami. It is almost over but for me, I enjoy him a lot on the pitch.

"Together with Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, they are far away from the others."

Messi landed the FIFA award, picked up by Thierry Henry, on Monday night at a ceremony in London despite leaving Europe last year after signing for Inter Miami in the summer.

The 36-year-old began 2023 at Paris Saint-Germain before his contract expired in June.

The 2022 World Cup winner scored nine goals for PSG as they won Ligue 1 but they crashed out of the Champions League at the first round.

At Inter Miami, Messi went on to score 10 goals in seven matches as the American team won the inaugural Leagues Cup.

While the FIFA Best Awards usually cover the calendar year, as opposed to the season like the Ballon d'Or, this year was judged from 19 December 2022 to 20 August 2023.

The awards are decided by a mix of votes from national team managers and captains, sports journalists and fans - with each counting for 25 per cent.

Messi shaded Haaland for the big prize despite being awarded the same amount of points because the Argentine had more first-place nominations from national team captains.

Harry Kane voted for Messi, as well as Mohamed Salah, Luka Modric and Mbappe while Ilkay Gundogan and Casemiro voted for Haaland, as did Messi.

Other winners on the night included Pep Guardiola, who claimed the men's coach prize after winning the treble with Manchester City.

Six City players made the team of the year: Ederson, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Kevin de Bruyne and Haaland.