However, Ronaldinho who won the Ballon D'or Award in 2015 and also played alongside Messi, has said he can't describe his former teammate as the greatest footballer of all time.
'I'm glad to see Messi win the 2019 Ballon d'Or,' he told Marca.
'We were also friends during our time at Barcelona.
'But I do not like to compare players, and I find it very difficult to describe him as the best footballer of all time.'
Instead, Ronaldinho insists that Messi faces serious competition for that title from great footballers like Brazil's Pele and Ronaldo and also Argentine legend Diego Maradona.
'There were top players like [Diego] Maradona, Pele, Ronaldo… it's hard to say that Messi is the best throughout the history of football,' he added.
'I can proudly say Messi is the best player of his era.'
Ronaldinho won the 2006 UEFA Champions League with Barcelona following a 2-1 win Vs Arsenal in Paris.
Ronaldinho was a part of of the Brazilian squad that won the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan and also scored one of the goals of the tournament in the 2-1 quarter-final win against England.
