"Messi is the best ever; Ronaldinho was at his level for a couple of years"

If there was a change which caused Barcelona to win titles and have lots of success in the 21st century, it was the signing of Ronaldinho in summer 2003. The star came thanks to Rosell and Laporta and he changed the face of a team who had lost too often since Johan Cruyff left.

In an interview with Cristina Cubero of 'Mundo Deportivo', Sandro Rosell praised the Brazilian although he said Leo Messi was miles better than him. "Messi is the best in the history of football, every season. Although for me, and I'm not impartial, Ronaldinho was as good or better than Messi for a couple of seasons," he explained. It is worth remembering that the former Barca president has a great relationship with the man from Porto Alegre and Rosell makes that clear whenever he can.

"Messi is the one who has given most to Barca in the club's history. But Barca also gives a lot to Messi. It is both ways. Let's keep things in perspective, Messi will retire and leave an indelible mark on the club, but Barca will continue," Rosell predicted.

Again focussing on Ronaldinho, the ex-Barca president opined on the player's arrest in Paraguay and asked for everything to be sorted out as soon as possible.: "I have no doubt that Ronaldinho does not why he has been locked up. Someone deceived him and didn't explain him the truth. He is football and smiles. I hope he continues thinking about football, but especially that he keeps on smiling."

Rosell, to conclude, gave an important amount of responsibility to the star during the change the club went through: "He was a fundamental part of the team. He changed Barca's history, who went from collective pessimism to optimism. Smiles returned as did the magic and results. And he was also Messi's mentor."