Football mastery universe implosion - Zidane meets Messi

You may not love them, but you must respect them. Whoever you were a supporter of - Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane are players who deserve absolute admiration for what they brought to the game of football. In a chat facilitated by Adidas, the two stars of the game shared their impressions of each other, of their respective positions in the game today and how it changed and more.

Zidane went to an Inter Miami game back in September, as he was reunited with former Real Madrid teammate (and Miami co-owner) David Beckham. During his visit, the Frenchman took time to do a back-and-forth with the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and the two did not spare words to show appreciation for each other.

'It's a pity that we couldn't play together,' Zidane said. 'This is the moment for me to pass you the ball.'

'Today is a very important day for me because I can tell him how much I admire him... I think it is magic, pure magic.'

Messi returned the praise.

'I have always admired him and liked him a lot. I followed him a lot in Madrid. And he made made me suffer a lot too because I was from Barcelona.'

Zidane played for Los Blancos from 2001-06, while Messi debuted for Barcelona's first team in 2004 and spent 17 years at the club.

The pair faced off in El Clasico in 2005, while Messi also frequently went against Zidane as a coach. The former midfielder tie to Los Blancos that he opted to begin his coaching journey at the Bernabeu in 2013, joining then-Madrid coach Jose Mourinho as an assistant.

Zidane's spell at the helm of the club between 2016 and 2018, and a second stint between 2019 and 2021, saw Real Madrid enjoy a period of dominance that yielded two La Liga triumphs, two Supercopa trophies and an impressive three Champions League titles.

The two then went on talking about the almost forgotten symbolism of the number ten in football.

Even though the cult of a no.10 in the sport has died down, there are players who were always different, better, more interesting then the rest on the pitch. Sometimes it is almost impossible to imagine those players with a digit other than a ten on their back. A couple of biggest number tens who weren't that for a big part of their careers are these two legends.

For Messi, who wore numbers 19 and 30 during his career, along with the 10 - it is evident why he looked up to the number. The Argentine had to mention Diego Maradona, who he worshiped as a kid.

'During our whole lives, those of us who grew up playing football wanted to be like him,' he said.

'Although no one was able to be like him, that was our dream and desire, and try to copy what Maradona did.'

Strangely, Zinedine Zidane never wore the ten outside his French national team. His club career saw his strut 11, 7, 21, and 5. And the latest made Messi ask for an explanation - the World Cup winner with France had an interesting answer.

'Florentino Perez, the president, didn't like the players wearing the numbers 25, 30, 35,' Zidane explained. 'He was from the old school. The number 1 for the goalkeeper and then up to number 10.

'(Manolo) Sanchis had number 5 for Madrid, he left, and when I got there, the president told me 'wouldn't you like to have a number from 1 to 10?' and we picked the number 5 because he didn't want the 25, 30, 35.

'This is not football, it is American football, so in the end, I got number 5.'

With the decision, Zidane established a legacy for the number - and one that might weigh heavily on those who inherit it.

When Jude Bellingham, who has sported the jersey since his June transfer from Borussia Dortmund, was asked if he had chosen the No. 5 jersey to pay tribute to Zidane during this year's Ballon d'Or Ceremony - the Englishman couldn't resist a little joke.

'There wasn't much else left!' Bellingham shared, but adding: 'It adds a little bit of pressure but I wanted to pay homage to one of my idols.'