The 2026 Copa America Summit officially kicked off. Following tradition, a CONMEBOL legend opened Tuesday's event. Felipe Melo, inaugurating the first day's proceedings at the Art Factory, expressed his admiration for Lionel Messi.

Melo Praises Messi

Melo said: "Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time. I never saw Pelé play. And Zico is one of the players I admire, but I never saw him play either. Ronaldo Nazário, Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zidane, Neymar... but Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time."

On this subject, Melo was also asked about the year-end Ballon d'Or winner. Lionel Messi is currently one of the main contenders, and Melo answered without hesitation.

Melo said: "In my opinion, the Ballon d'Or belongs to Lionel Messi. Let me explain why. I could mention Ronaldinho, who had a great season at Barcelona but didn't perform well for Brazil in the World Cup. I could mention Kylian Mbappé, who scored many goals but won no trophies at Real Madrid. In Spain, it could be Lamine Yamal, but he didn't qualify for the World Cup like Lionel Messi did. In my view, Lionel Messi was the best player at the World Cup and also had an outstanding season in Major League Soccer. Therefore, I believe the Ballon d'Or should go to Lionel Messi."

Continuing this discussion, he introduced the concept of the "Messi cycle" during the conversation, speaking about the outstanding achievements Argentina's national team has accomplished during Messi's tenure and the passionate fanbase that has formed around the Argentine team.

He explained: "Wherever Lionel Messi goes, he draws many people. Some people support Argentina simply because of Lionel Messi, and wear the Argentina jersey because of him. This phenomenon has also happened in Brazil with Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Ronaldão... Lionel Messi is truly remarkable."

Melo also mentioned that during the last World Cup, "many Brazilians hoped Argentina would win the World Cup again because of Lionel Messi." However, when asked which team he supported during the World Cup, Melo made a distinction: "Like everyone else, I'm a fan of Lionel Messi. To me, he's the best. But I'm Brazilian, and I always want Brazil to win. After Brazil was eliminated, I wanted Portugal to win, and in the final, since I have a Spanish passport, I wanted Spain to win."

Strong Criticism of Carlo Ancelotti

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

Melo acknowledged: "Brazil probably has the greatest coach or at least one of the top three coaches in history." However, he said Ancelotti is a "tough guy" but "his results fall far short of what we can achieve and what Brazilians expect from him."

"Brazilian football is samba football. We played an important match against Norway, and even though Norway has never won anything in their history, we surrendered possession to them. You're afraid to play against Norway. This is very bad for Brazilian football.

"I remember in a recent match Norway lost 3-1 to Portugal. Before the game, Jorge Jesus said, 'I'm not afraid of Norway. I'll go and play my football.' But Brazil showed fear against them."

Through this, Melo criticized Brazil's playing style at the World Cup.

Finally, he criticized the coach again while discussing Neymar's importance to this Brazilian team.

"Neymar was injured at the time but still played. However, when you put a very skilled player into a match where you can't control possession, it becomes very difficult. Ultimately, I think the collective can be of great help to the individual. If the collective strength is strong, the player's individual ability will shine through. If this doesn't happen, it cannot be expressed.

"A few days ago they had a ridiculous draw with Australia, and today Brazil's match wasn't beautiful but at least they won. So everything is progressing step by step. Brazil has excellent players, but the overall teamwork still needs improvement."

Reminiscing About Maradona: Comparing Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

As the conversation drew to a close, Melo mentioned Diego Maradona, saying he believes Maradona "is still there" and remains part of the discussion of the world's greatest player. At the same time, he discussed Cristiano Ronaldo and compared him to Lionel Messi.

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

"But now he needs his teammates to do things for him. At 25 or 30, Cristiano Ronaldo could do everything himself, but now the team needs to create opportunities for him. Lionel Messi is different. When the match is difficult and the situation is deadlocked, he can drop back and create scoring opportunities for his teammates. That's why he's a complete player."

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