Vicente del Bosque expressed his belief that Lionel Messi should be considered as the finest football player worldwide ahead of Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
The former Spain coach believes that Messi's main virtue that makes him stand out from the rest is that he is still playing this kind of creative street football that fans adore to watch.
"Messi [is the best worldwide] and I'm going to tell you why," Del Bosque told Canal Sur.
"I'm not [saying it] to discredit Cristiano. [Messi] is a kid from the street, from the neighbourhood.
"One of those who we played with and he made fun of you on the pitch. That's why he's the best player of the world."
Messi is Argentina's captain and leader in the ongoing edition of the Copa America, while Cristiano Ronaldo netted a brace in Portugal's opener against Hungary for the 2020 European Championship.