Sergio Ramos has revealed he holds Barcelona counterpart Lionel Messi in high regard and, despite the rivalry between the Catalans and Real Madrid, he still considers him to be one of the best players ever.
Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi is having another hugely impressive season, with his numbers in 2019-20 seeing him score 23 goals in 29 appearances in all competitions for Barca, while he also has 16 assists.
Madrid host Barca in Sunday's eagerly-anticipated Clasico clash, with Ramos and Messi set to go head-to-head once again, and the Spain international admits to having the utmost respect for his Argentine rival.
"I have huge respect for him," he told La Liga. "I think he’s one of the greatest players in history and I have huge respect for him. I hope Sunday isn’t his day, that would mean we’ve done our job, and if on top of that we can get a good result even better.
"I wish him all the best as a fellow professional but only as long as it doesn’t affect us negatively! It's hard, but he has my maximum respect, I think he’s one of the best."