Bojan Krkic played with some outstanding players during his 17-year professional career, including Lionel Messi, but the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner was not the best.

The former Spain international, who recently announced his retirement at the age of 32, made over 100 appearances for boyhood club Barcelona before spells Roma, AC Milan, Stoke City and more recently Vissel Kobe.

He played with the likes of Andres Iniesta [twice], Francesco Totti and Stephen Ireland in that time but there’s one player that stands out from the rest; Ronaldinho.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Bojan said: “Ronaldinho probably was the most special player that I played with.

“I remember Ronaldinho especially because for me, Ronaldinho is the best player that I saw as a fan and that I played with in my football career.”

He added: “Obviously Messi is unbelievable, especially through all the years that he played, and he’s still playing and winning all the trophies that he achieved already.

“He’s unbelievable, but Ronaldinho was something different. For me, he was special, magic – the way that he played football, the way that he could do it on the field with a smile on his face.”

Just 19 days after his 17th birthday, Bojan broke Lionel Messi’s record for being the youngest Barcelona player to feature in La Liga after being thrust into the limelight by then-manager Frank Rijkaard.

It was the start of a memorable season for the teenager, who would score 10 times in all.

When speaking about that spell in Barcelona’s first-team, Bojan told SPORTbible: “Every day was like a dream for me.

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“I was training and sharing a dressing room with players that used to be on posters in my room… one day I had posters of Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho in my room and the next I was playing with some of the biggest stars in the world; all while doing what I loved the most.

“Henry was a big influence. I think he knew how it felt for a young lad to play at a big club. Samuel Eto’o was great, too. Lilian Thuram was a great guy. Andres Iniesta had a big heart.

“I can say these were good people in the dressing room. I felt protected.”

So what is Bojan up to these days? After hanging up his boots, the Spaniard teamed up with former teammate Andres Iniesta to launch Barcelona-based cycling brand, Guava Bikes.

At the time of writing, they only have one model for sale, the Guava Spot, a bike that costs more than £5,000.

On top of the Guava project, Bojan is currently in training to take part in gravel cycling – a sport he has grown to love in recent years.