The 2026 Olé Summit officially opened. As per tradition, a CONMEBOL legend kicked off Tuesday's event. Felipe Melo began the first day's activities at the Fábrica de Arte venue, where he spoke about his admiration and fervent appreciation for Messi.

Melo Praises Messi

Melo said: "Messi is the greatest in history. I didn't see Pelé play. And Zico, he's one of my idols, but I didn't see him play either. Ronaldo 'Fenômeno', Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zidane, Neymar... but Messi is the greatest in history."

On this topic, Melo was also asked about the Ballon d'Or recipient at year's end. Messi is currently one of the main candidates, and Melo answered without hesitation.

"For me, the Ballon d'Or is Messi. Let me explain why. I could say Raphinha—he had a great season at Barcelona—but he didn't perform well for Brazil in the Copa América. I could also say Mbappé; he scored many goals but didn't win any titles with Real Madrid. From Spain, there's Yamal, but he didn't play in a World Cup like Messi did. For me, Messi was the best player in the World Cup, and he also had an excellent season in Major League Soccer. So, for me, the Ballon d'Or must go to Messi," Melo stated.

Continuing on this theme, he also introduced a concept during his speech—the "Messi cycle"—and discussed the excellent results achieved by the Argentine national team during Messi's tenure, as well as the passion that has grown around the team.

"Wherever Messi goes, he attracts many people. Some people support Argentina because of Messi, and wear the Argentina jersey because of Messi. This used to happen with Brazil and Ronaldo, Neymar, Romário... Messi is truly incredible," he explained.

Melo also said that during the last World Cup, "many Brazilians wanted Argentina to win because of Messi." However, when asked which team he supported during the World Cup, Melo made a distinction: "Like everyone else, I am a fan of Messi. For me, he is the greatest. But I am Brazilian, and I always want Brazil to win. After Brazil was eliminated, I hoped Portugal would win, and in the final, I wanted Spain to win, because I have a Spanish passport."

Strong Criticism of Ancelotti

In another part of the conversation, the former player, who dreams of becoming Boca Juniors coach, spoke about the current state of his beloved Brazilian team and criticized Carlo Ancelotti.

After admitting that "Brazil might have the best coach in history, or at least one of the top three," Melo stated that Ancelotti "is a tough person," but "his performance is far below what we are capable of, and far below what we Brazilians expect from him."

"Brazilian football is samba football. We played an important match against Norway, a team that has never won anything in their life, and yet we let Norway control possession. You are afraid to play against Norway. This is a very bad thing for Brazilian football."

"In recent matches, Norway played against Portugal, and I remember they lost 3-1. Before the game, Jorge Jesus said: 'I'm not afraid of Norway; I'll go there and play my own football.' But Brazil appeared to be afraid when facing them."

Melo used this to criticize Brazil's playing style.

Finally, he spoke about Neymar's importance to the Brazilian team, while also reiterating his criticism of the head coach.

"Neymar was injured at the time but still played. But when you put a very capable player into a game where you can't control possession, it becomes very difficult. I think ultimately, the collective can greatly help the individual. If the collective strength is strong, the individual abilities of the players will be highlighted. If this isn't achieved, they can't perform.

"A few days ago, they drew with Australia, and today Brazil's game wasn't pretty, but at least they won. So it's one step at a time. Brazil has very good players, but overall coordination still needs to improve."

Recalling Maradona and Comparing Ronaldo with Messi

Towards the end of the conversation, Melo mentioned Diego Maradona, believing he "is still there" in discussions about the world's best player. He also spoke about Cristiano Ronaldo and compared him with Messi.

"For me, Messi is first, and second could be Ronaldinho, Maradona, or Cristiano Ronaldo. I really like Cristiano because he is an incredibly professional player. He's 41 years old, but his body looks even better than an 18-year-old's; he's a beast.

"But now he needs people around him to do things for him. At 25 or 30, Cristiano could do everything himself, but now he needs the team to create chances for him. Messi is different. If the game is difficult, if it's a stalemate, he'll drop back and also create goal opportunities for his teammates. So he's complete."

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