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Former Real Madrid striker Jorge Valdano has dubbed Lionel Messi a "miracle" and said football's next genius talent will be "more physically superhuman" like Cristiano Ronaldo.
Valdano, 64, told Tiempo (h/t Goal's Peter Lynch) Messi "has the power of a hero, of a superstar," one who was in part moulded by his background playing in the streets of his native Argentina.
The ex-Argentina forward—who also managed Real between 1994 and 1996—identified the importance that experience had in shaping Messi, though he predicted football is changing in that regard:
"Messi is a formative miracle: He owes his gifts to both the streets and the academy.