Lionel Messi be one of the best footballers in the world in the eyes of Marco van Basten, but the former Golden Boot winner believes that his AC Milan side of the late 1980s and early 1990s would have achieved more than the Argentine's Barcelona teams, had the Dutchman not retired so young.
Due to a chronic ankle injury, Van Basten had to quit the sport at the age of 31 and he believes he could have won much more if he'd had a few more years to strut his stuff.
"My retirement is the thing I regret the most, as it deprived me of more triumphs," he said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Our glory years would have lasted three or four years in Italy and across the world and we would have left those of Messi's Barcelona behind."
The Barcelona No.10 did, however, feature in Van Basten's list of the top players in the world, even if he wouldn't single anyone out as the very best.
"It's difficult to say [who is the best], as there is lots of talent," he said.
"People pay to see Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic.
"Ibrahimovic is my heir, although I'm curious to see [Andrea] Belotti, the new Christian Vieri."
The Dutchman has also made the headlines recently for his new proposals for altering the rules of the sport in his role as FIFA technical director.