Jami` at-Tirmidhi Book 49, Hadith 53
"I said to 'Aishah: 'Which of the Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) were the most beloved to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)?' She said: 'Abu Bakr.' I said: 'Then who?' She said: ''Umar.' I said: "Then who?' She said: 'Then Abu 'Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah.'" He said: "I said: 'Then who?''" He said: "Then she was silent."
"Abu Bakr is our chief, and the best of us, and the most beloved of us to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)."
that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Indeed the people of the higher levels, will be seen by those who are beneath them like the stars which appear far off in the sky. And indeed Abu Bakr and 'Umar are among them, and they have done well."