Regarded as one of the best-ever defenders to grace the field AC Milan and Italy legend Paolo Maldini has named three greatest-ever players he has seen and it does not include Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 55-year-old played for AC Milan in his full career and managed over 900 caps. The legendary defender won every possible trophy with the Serie A giants in his playing days and it is fair to say he faced some of the best attackers in his lifetime.

However, in that list sadly Al Nassr and Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo don't fit in.

As per Maldini, his once team-mate and Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazario was among the best players he ever faced. Alongside the Brazil striker, he also named two Argentine greats, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, the other two best players.

Maldini faced Maradona during his stint with Napoli. However, he never faced Lionel Messi in his lifetime. It is fair to say the Inter Miami star has created a great impact on the five-time Champions League winner.

Maldini said: “First of all, I have had the chance to play against great, great players and I think the best ones were, of course, [Diego] Maradona when he played for Napoli and Ronaldo when he played for Inter."

He added: "I didn’t play against Messi because he was injured, thank God he was injured."

Putting the 2022 World Cup winner as one of the greatest ever in Maldini's mind is indeed not surprising. However, Messi's long rival Cristiano Ronaldo and his fans may not take this omission lightly.