Lionel Messi

With out doubt one of if not the best player at this moment in time . Imo the best .

But if Barcelona did the unthinkable and sold would he be as good in a different team ? He doesn't play aswell for Argentina as he does for Barca so if you took him out of the Best football team in the world, away from Xavi Iniesta Fabragas ect would he be as good ?

Dont get me wrong he would still be a great player put him in any team in the world and he improves it tenfold but i just think he is so suited to Barca's way of playing that if you take him away from that he wouldn't be quite as good .

One of the best? He was one of the best in 2008, he is clearly the best on the planet. Barca built the team around him, Argentina need to do the same. The signs are good, he got a hat trick for them the other night. If you put him in Stoke, he won't do that well. Put him with Arsenal and he would win them the Champions League. They are discussing this on RTE now though!

Barca without Messi are still probably the best in Europe. Barca with Messi, are up there with the best of all time.

Didn't wont to over sell him , id put him better then Maradona at his peak .

5 goals tonight awesome , id also agree this Barca team are the best of all time .

Just noticed that ITV4 are showing Lionel Messi the worlds greatest footballer right now .

the show on ITV4 was really good, great insight to Messi the player and Messi the person.

He is truly excellent, lacks the off the pitch personality though that the likes of Best, Ronaldo 1 and Maradona had. Although, that's a good thing.

KingKenny7Heaven wrote:Didn't wont to over sell him , id put him better then Maradona at his peak .

5 goals tonight awesome , id also agree this Barca team are the best of all time .

Yet are 10 points adrift in the league, a combination of a lull in European football and the soon to be all time great trio of xavi messi iniesta (in that order) makes them look unmatchable.

Pace, strengh, balance, touch, control, finishing ability he really does have it all, he is without doubt the best player with the ball at his feet I've ever watched, he has the quickest feet and a fantastic ability to retain possession in tight situations that someone for his size has no right to be able to. Add all that to the fact he can't stop scoring goals and you've got the best player on the plant right now and someone who will be remembered as an all time great.

The Argentina team is a tricky one to answer, why does he not have the same impact on the international stage? IMO all Argentina's stand out players play in a very similar position to him, aguero, tevez and higuian.At club level messi relies on those wonderfully crafted passes and through balls from xavi and co behind him and at international level he just doesn't get any where near thy same level of support or service that he does at club level. Barcelona built their team around him with him as the focal point, Argentina need to do the same and you could argue that until messi has a 'great' world cup he can be recognised as a true great of the sport!

Ronaldo is better

It is interesting that Johan Cruyff said he thought Xavi was the best player in the World right now with Messi being the most exciting. I kinda think they are symbiotic, they need each other to be the very best. When they don't have each other they are still very good but not as great.

Lionel Messi is on a different planet to everyone else, including Ronaldo. My favourite player of my generation is Zinedine Zidane but Messi is without doubt the best player ive seen since Zidane.

Pele scored 1100 in 1200 games at club level and and about 75 in 90 for Brazil. That is ridiculous. When Messi retires lets look at his stats and we can tell then whether or not he is the best ever. To call him the best ever now is a bit premature if you ask me.

I think the scary things is hes only 24 , how good can he become

KingKenny7Heaven wrote:I think the scary things is hes only 24 , how good can he become

I have no doubt he will go on to break every scoring and appearance record going, but as I said previously i don't think he can be classes in the same level as pele, Zidane, Maradonna, Johan Cruyff etc until he has an outstanding world cup.

MtotheC wrote:

KingKenny7Heaven wrote:I think the scary things is hes only 24 , how good can he become

I have no doubt he will go on to break every scoring and appearance record going, but as I said previously i don't think he can be classes in the same level as pele, Zidane, Maradonna, Johan Cruyff etc until he has an outstanding world cup.

So your saying you can never become the greatest of all time compared to Maradona because he hasnt had an outstanding world cup??????? WTF!

Your saying that if Messi was from Indonesia and they never reached a world cup or did reach a world cup and lost all games at the group stage then Messi would never be seen or recognised as the greatest of all time!....DOESNT MAKE SENSE!

If anything World Cups are overrated and in comparison to champions league QF'S/SF'S & Finals then the champions league quality is far superior to end of season world cups where the majority of players are not at their peak. The last couple of world cups have been dreadful.

ummm, theyre is one player better than messi u know

John wrote:

MtotheC wrote:

KingKenny7Heaven wrote:I think the scary things is hes only 24 , how good can he become

I have no doubt he will go on to break every scoring and appearance record going, but as I said previously i don't think he can be classes in the same level as pele, Zidane, Maradonna, Johan Cruyff etc until he has an outstanding world cup.

So your saying you can never become the greatest of all time compared to Maradona because he hasnt had an outstanding world cup??????? WTF!

Your saying that if Messi was from Indonesia and they never reached a world cup or did reach a world cup and lost all games at the group stage then Messi would never be seen or recognised as the greatest of all time!....DOESNT MAKE SENSE!

If anything World Cups are overrated and in comparison to champions league QF'S/SF'S & Finals then the champions league quality is far superior to end of season world cups where the majority of players are not at their peak. The last couple of world cups have been dreadful.

Like it or not the world cup is the greatest sporting event in the world, what I'm saying is if he is to be compared to all the greats who have performed to the highest standard on the greatest world stage then he most perform in the same manner! I'm not saying he won't be considered as one of the greatest if he doesn't just that IMO he needs it to cement himself as an all time great! It makes perfect sense to me! Wheather you like te world cup or not it doesn't change the fact that it is the most prestigious, glamorous, sort after competitions on the history of sport.

I saw this little fella last night, don't mind sticking my neck out but I think that little player has a real chance to make it in the game

It's odd because Messi on paper, wouldn't seem like the best player on the planet.

He's mostly one-footed.
He's small, height and build.
He was thrown in the deep-end so early with a lot of pressure put on his shoulders.
He doesn't relish fame at all.
He's not great at set pieces.
He's not known for taking long shots or scoring them.

Cristiano Ronaldo should be the best player in the world, and if you were to design the complete footballer I think it'd be close to Ronaldo.

He can use both feet pretty much equally well.
He's ridiculously fast.
He's tall, and built like an ox.
He can take set pieces perfectly.
He seems to be able to score from anywhere.
He was slowly blooded into a club and fine-tuned by two of the best managers of all time.
He's happy to accept the fame that comes with it.

It makes Messi's achievements that bit more remarkable.

What sets them apart is their attitude, when things go against Ronaldo he let's it get to him, can become rash and moody, Messi never seems to get disheartened, it's the little man syndrome IMO, always determined to prove he's better than his opponent, plus, Messi just looks like he loves playing football, Ronaldo looks like he has the weight of the World on his shoulder

Messi,Ronaldo,Zidane,CR7 are the best in my lifetime. Can't compare Messi to past great as I've never seem them play.

Crimey wrote:It's odd because Messi on paper, wouldn't seem like the best player on the planet.

He's mostly one-footed.
He's small, height and build.
He was thrown in the deep-end so early with a lot of pressure put on his shoulders.
He doesn't relish fame at all.
He's not great at set pieces.
He's not known for taking long shots or scoring them.


It makes Messi's achievements that bit more remarkable.

You don't watch much La Liga football do you.......actually don't answer that, I already know the answer. Firstly Messi is built like a tank, his upper body strength for someone his size is phenomenal. To say his frame doesn't suit the characteristics of a 'world's best' is stupid as Maradona, Pele, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Sneijder and David Silva to name a few are small build players with immense technical ability. Apparently he's not very good at set-pieces......this qoute made me laugh. Please watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66J-1iGLIY0

Okay he's not a fame hungry guy but what does that have to do with being able to become the greatest player ever?

I could go on.............but I can't be bothered

He's good, but he's no Shola.

King Beer wrote:He's good, but he's no Shola.

I dont buy into this argument that you have ot win a world cup to be the best player ever. As was said above, what if Messi was from Indonesia? Cant he ever be the best ever.

Pele is my favourite player. But face facts, Andy Carrol would have won a world cup medal had he played in the 1970 Brazil team. For me Maradonna isthe best ever because he single handedly won the world cup in 86 and practically won Serie A for Napoli.

Messi plays with class players around him. He's the best now, but seeing as he playes for a top 10 nation, he has to have a good world cup to prove himself. I have a strong feeling that he will in Rio (until he's kicked off the park).