As Lionel Messi finally lifts the ultimate prize in football, his case to be the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T) becomes the strongest it ever has been.
While undoubtedly one of the greatest to ever play the game, the FIFA World Cup trophy-sized hole in his cabinet was often cited as the biggest gap in his career.
Not anymore. Like his footballing predecessor, Diego Maradona, Messi has shepherded his football-crazy country to the pinnacle of the world game.
The G.O.A.T debate is football’s most contested conversation, eliciting strong opinions and a lot of disagreement. Often, due to fan loyalties, the debate pushes people to extreme positions, pedestalizing one player while diminishing another.
Ultimately, there is no objective metric to compare the “greatness” of players spanning across generations and situations. What is possible to do, however, is to have a conversation that respects footballing context before making an informed opinion.
Messi is a winner in life from football to family he probably has everything settled. In football he has won 5 ballon d’Or being the first person in the history to achieve that.
He has won 5 golden boots again, the first person in the history to do it. He has trophies more than his age and is just 4 or 5 trophies behind his former teammate Dani Alves to become most successful player.
If i went on saying the records of La Pulga it can even take night such is our Leo Messi is. Coming to personal life, unlike many other footballers who are often found sleeping with other models or actress Leo Messi is now married to his childhood love Antonella Roccuzzo and has 3 children named Thiago, Matteo, Ciro. Never ever i have heard Messi controversy with some other women which means he is a family guy.
Despite this one thing he regrets is winning an international trophy. He already has won Olympic gold and Under 20 championship for his country and now the World Cup trophy.
It’s not that he hasn’t tried his best Lionel Messi has reached the finals of 2 copa America finals and one fifa world cup. Unfortunately he lost all of them due to some problems. This has given chance for his haters to say Lionel Messi hasn’t won any international trophy. Now if you see the whole highlight of these tournaments you can see that due to Messi his country Argentina reached the finals.
However tough the players were he still made sure he passes the ball towards his players and they score the goal neglecting that mostly they missed all of them.
His own countrymen are his enemies, they have vandalized his statue twice and do not support him. Leo Messi is a die hard patriotic person but people don’t see his efforts and probably wont see his teamates missing sitters.
Messi was also given a chance to change his nationality to Spain and as per him it was an undeniable offer still he remained with his beloved country. Imagine if he did accept Spanish nationality he would have become 2 time euro winner, maybe 2 time world cup winner.
For me in any sense lack of international trophies can’t make Messi the greatest. For me he is and he will be the Greatest. His foot gives you the answer and not his mouth.
Yes. The greatest is the one who gave the greatest entertainment. Remember football is a team game. Unlike Maradona, Messi has never played in a great Argentinian team.
George Best did not even play in World Cup finals. Even Pele who won 3 World Cups was surrounded by extraordinarily talented teammates. So depending upon your definition of greatness I would propose that Messi is right at the top.
Pele was football’s first global superstar. Possibly the best-paid athlete of his era (1956-77), he averaged just about a goal a game for his entire career, scoring a whopping 757 goals in 831 official games.
He was also an underrated creative player, with a record 8 assists in his World Cup career. Till date, he is the only player who has won the World Cup thrice (1958, 1962, 1970), doing so in four attempts.
If Pele was a symbol of the purity of the beautiful game, Maradona was its fallen angel. Notorious for his bohemian lifestyle, Maradona was the definition of a wayward genius.
He had skill that would defy logic, and a heart to go with it. When opponents were unable to stop him legally, they would kick him to the ground, a practice referees were far more lenient with back in the day. However, Maradona always got back up and played like nothing had happened.
While his actual output was modest in comparison to some other players in this list and the peak of his career was short-lived, Maradona’s case to be the G.O.A.T is based on how gifted he was and how he made everyone who watched him feel.
Crucially, he always rose to the occasion, with his exploits in the 1986 World Cup widely considered to be the greatest individual performance in a football tournament.
Leo Messi has combined Maradona’s magic with unmatched production. Over the course of his career, he has scored 592 goals (club plus international games) and assisted another 350 times. Along the way, he has wowed players and fans alike with his sublime skill, vision and audacity to try the unimaginable.
All this, in a modern era where advanced analytics and video footage help opponents know all facets of a player’s game, all the tiny tendencies which were previously missed.
Messi’s G.O.A.T case is simple. Sustained excellence. Previously, players of his ilk had short effervescent peaks but faded either due to injuries, indifference or simply getting “figured out.” Messi’s own idol, Diego Maradona is the perfect example. The fact that Messi has kept his magic alive for such a long period is the ultimate testament to his greatness.
This World Cup win is a storybook ending to a legendary career. His trophy cabinet is now complete, and with it is his case to be the greatest to ever play the game. There is nothing more he can do.