Raul played at the Bernabeu for 16 years and has been amongst some of the world's biggest footballing names.

The New York Cosmos player-coach was asked the question by Sports Illustrated and said he believes Barcelona maestro Messi makes "the impossible easy".

Messi has catapulted Luis Enrique's side to the top of La Liga after scoring 49 goals in 44 games this season, giving the Catalan giants a genuine chance of winning the treble.

"Messi," Raul told Sports Illustrated. "I was lucky enough to play with Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo, Cristiano... but Messi is different; he makes everything look so easy, so effortless – even the impossible.

"When you watch him play, it’s almost as though you are watching him in the street playing with his mates. "From the time when I started out, the best players around then were Roberto Baggio and Ryan Giggs."

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