I wanted to wait a few days after his performance against Leverkusen to allow things to settle down, not make this an over reaction thread. But I've just watched the highlights again, and the man is absolutely pure class. People will argue that it was against a weaker German side, that he doesn't perform against lower teams, that he wouldn't be the same without that midfield behind him, and maybe all that's true. But it's still undeniable that he's the best player in the world right now. But where (at this point in time) does he rank historically? Surely all he needs is a world cup to take the title of 'best ever' Anyway the man is an absolute masterclass, I only wished he played in the Prem
Leverkusen are in general no weaker than most of the teams in Spain tbh, let's face it take away the top two or three and the rest of the league is no big deal, but their shameful performance against Barcelona was a joke. After losing the first leg they had obviously decided that they were already out and were simply going through the oblogations of playing out the 90 minutes. The German media has slaughtered them for their attitude. Barcelona of course still deserve much credit for playing as they did. As for "Best ever" as I've said elsewhere that is an impossible thing to say one way or the other. Messi is on a par with the likes of Pele, Cruyff, Maradona but imo certainly not better. Styles change as do tactics, team mates skill also plays a role it's impossible to say one was better than the other with any real conviction.
I am not saying this because I am a Real Madrid supporter,but i honestly believe you cant say Messi is the best ever in the history of football.Yes i admit ight now he is the best no question but he cant be compared to the likes of DI Stefano,Maradona and Pele.I mean Maradona single handedly won the world cup for his nation.Messi on the other hand cant perform for Argentina for some reason.Plus Messi would not be same player without Xavi and Iniesta.
MAny of these so called teams are still in Europe? If you said this about the english league then i would agree, Spanish league is getting bigger n better every day where as english league is starting to go backwards
This isn't true at all. People seem to just look at his goalscoring record and assume he isn't playing well. He was their best player by a mile at the World Cup. I don't know if anyone here is in a position to compare him to Pele or di Stefano in any meaningful way.
One of the biggest myths in football is that Maradona won the World Cup 'single handedly', it's very disrespectufl to what was a very good Argentina side. He was the shining light, no doubt, but they weren't some league 2 side as is frequently made out.
No he wasn't. Off the top of my head, Aguero, Higuain and Di Maria were better. I agree that it isn't just about his goalscoring record, but I don't think he played that well at the World Cup or Copa America last summer. He scored his first international hat-trick recently though, so he's getting better.
Absolute nonsense. Aguero barely played, Higuain scored a hat trick and did little else, and I don't remember Di Maria doing anything of note at all. Tevez was better than any of those listed, but Messi was clearly the most influential Argentine player at the World Cup.
The reason Messi was poor (by his high standards) in the 2010 World Cup is 100% down to that idiot Maradonna and his 4-1-5 formation. Basically, Messi had to drop as far back as the half way line to receive the ball. The only way Messi will do well for Argentina is if they give him a free role with 2 defensive midfielders in the side. Until they do this he wont score lots of goals like he does for Barca.
They don't have to play exactly the same tactics as Barca, but they need to settle on a system and develop a similar level of continuity. A player like Messi isn't going to reach his peak level if the players around him are constantly being chopped and changed.
It isn't impossible. The previous record holder had 232 goals in a career lasting 16 years at Barca. Messi has done that about half the time.
