Whose career would you rather have had? Messi or Zidane

Ramos said:
Zidane for me.

Better to win everything once than winning so much but have the most prestigious one missing, which is the WC. And Zidane did it for a nation that never won it before. His name will always be automatically attached to the football history of that entire country.
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This really. Messi is the GOAT in my opinion but Zidane won the World Cup in France and followed on with The Euros in 2000.

I think if Messi was to finish his career today he'd have far more regrets than Zidane did. Messi's trophy haul dwarfs Zidane's but Zidane won it all and in spectacular fashion might I add.
 
I don't know but I see different angles.

Money: Messi wins by a landslide but Zidane is also rich and I would be perfectly happy with what he has, so it's not something that I would care about.

Trophies: Zidane won everything but he hasn't had the luxury of starting his career in a dominant club, he had to climb the football ladder and did exactly that, from Cannes to Real Madrid. So if you only care about football achievements from a silverware standpoint Messi wins but if you care about the journey and actual growth then Zidane is closer to Messi.

National glory: They are both sidekicks, they are Platini's and Maradona's robins but Zidane seems to be closer to Platini than Messi is to Maradona. If you care about being prophet in your own country then Zidane wins.

That being said, Messi is by far the better player, so if your personal goal is just to be the best then Messi wins.


Edit: Out of all careers, I would have picked Seedorf's or Cruijff's.
 
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POF said:
:lol::lol::lol:

Surely you're not serious. 10 league titles and 3 champions leagues vs 3 league titles, one champions league a world cup and a European championship. Messi must really envy Zidane's intertoto cup win!

This thread is just bizarre. One has dominated European football for a decade, producing goalscoring numbers year after year never seen before. The other looks good in youtube videos to orchestra music.
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A world cup win in your own country is pretty special.
 
Kostur said:
Messi and it's not even close for me but I guess the OP's main point was Messi's nonexistent international career vs Zidane's.
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yep. it's nonexistent compared to Del Piero's or Rivaldo's international careers as well (and plenty of other players tbf) and I think everyone in thread got the point, but that doesn't necessarily make those careers more attractive to them.
 
Depends on how you define success

I'll tell you this though, Messi would gladly trade all the trophies he's won with barcelona and individually for one world cup with argentina
 
giorno said:
Depends on how you define success

I'll tell you this though, Messi would gladly trade all the trophies he's won with barcelona and individually for one world cup with argentina
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How much did your new tits cost, Antonella?
 
Messi is the far better player, but I could easily see Zidane being more happy with his career, he's won everything there is to win, everything you dare to dream of as a kid, whereas Messi's international career has been a disappointment (I'm not even necessarily blaming himself for this) and I think there are a lot of people out there for whom no amount of club goals or Ballon d'Ors will remove that particular sting.
 
JPRouve said:
I don't know but I see different angles.

Money: Messi wins by a landslide but Zidane is also rich and I would be perfectly happy with what he has, so it's not something that I would care about.

Trophies: Zidane won everything but he hasn't had the luxury of starting his career in a dominant club, he had to climb the football ladder and did exactly that, from Cannes to Real Madrid. So if you only care about football achievements from a silverware standpoint Messi wins but if you care about the journey and actual growth then Zidane is closer to Messi.

National glory: They are both sidekicks, they are Platini's and Maradona's robins but Zidane seems to be closer to Platini than Messi is to Maradona. If you care about being prophet in your own country then Zidane wins.

That being said, Messi is by far the better player, so if your personal goal is just to be the best then Messi wins.
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Despite the journey, he spent 10 years at Juventus and Real Madrid and won 3 league titles and one Champions League. You might point the finger at his teammates but both clubs won the 2 league titles in a row following his departure.

Good player, extremely skillful and his ability on the ball was incredible. But, his influence on the success of his sides is extremely overrated.
 
The world cup is the greatest trophy in football, so Zidane
 
POF said:
Despite the journey, he spent 10 years at Juventus and Real Madrid and won 3 league titles and one Champions League. You might point the finger at his teammates but both clubs won the 2 league titles in a row following his departure.

Good player, extremely skillful and his ability on the ball was incredible. But, his influence on the success of his sides is extremely overrated.
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That's beside the point, it's about which career one would rather have. Not, who is the better player?
 
do.ob said:
Messi is the far better player, but I could easily see Zidane being more happy with his career, he's won everything there is to win, everything you dare to dream of as a kid, whereas Messi's international career has been a disappointment (I'm not even necessarily blaming himself for this) and I think there are a lot of people out there for whom no amount of club goals or Ballon d'Ors will remove that particular sting.
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This. Messi won more spanish leagues, ballon d'Ors, but law of diminishing effect
 
This is a bit like the "if you could sign just one player from the Barcelona team who would it be" question asked to Ferguson after the 2011 CL Final.

Surely the thread started had a late night?
 
Interesting thread - wouldn’t have thought there would be so many people vocal in saying Zidane. That’s surprised me.

For me it would be Messi, and clearly he’s not anywhere near finished yet.

Far more interesting debate that the usual Ronaldo vs Messi - as Messi vs Zidane have such different career whereas the former debate saw two players go head to head for a decade.
 
POF said:
:lol::lol::lol:

Surely you're not serious. 10 league titles and 3 champions leagues vs 3 league titles, one champions league a world cup and a European championship. Messi must really envy Zidane's intertoto cup win!

This thread is just bizarre. One has dominated European football for a decade, producing goalscoring numbers year after year never seen before. The other looks good in youtube videos to orchestra music.
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Pretty sure most players would swap everything they've ever won to singlehandedly win a World Cup final like Zidane did. That's what you grow up dreaming of, not winning 10 La Ligas.
 
11101 said:
Pretty sure most players would swap everything they've ever won to singlehandedly win a World Cup final like Zidane did. That's what you grow up dreaming of, not winning 10 La Ligas.
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Who's had the greater career? Ryan Giggs or Paul Pogba?
 
Messi.

Club > country

Edit: Zidane if you include the manager career.
 
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I get that winning the WC is the most iconic, but honestly I don't think apart from germans anyone are really going to remember Klose and Götze. Personally I think Zidane's club career is quite unspectacular for player of his calibre who played in some awesome teams. Paul Scholes has thrice the trophies he has.
 
Zidane - I can remember two outstanding goals of his(CL final and WC 98 final) None of Messi’s spring to mind. The correct answer though is CR7.
 
I'd rather have experienced winning everything, than the same thing more times, if we're going off trophies.

I also kinda prefer the way Zidane is admired.
 
11101 said:
Ask that when Pogba has finished his. Comparing them both at the age of 26, Pogba's is clearly more impressive.
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Maybe Pogba was a stupid comparison, but you get the point.
 
For me its simple. A career and body of work that lead many to call him the greatest player of all time, or merely one of the world's best ever midfielders? Clear choice.
 
Shamana said:
Maybe Pogba was a stupid comparison, but you get the point.
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I do and i disagree with it. Messi himself says he would swap everything for a World Cup. Zidane has won every trophy he was able to win, and been totally instrumental in many of them. People are confusing who had the best career with who was the better player.
 
I can't believe people are even saying Zidane. The world cup is irrelevant when Messi will go down amongst the best ever players alongside the likes of Pele, Cruyff and Maradona and Cristiano. That honour is much larger.
 
I'd personally be happier with Zidane's career, if we're discussing only what they have won on a collective level instead of how talented/good the were (where Messi is the clear winner). Zidane in Italy: won the Serie A and domestic cups, in Spain: won the La Liga and the European Cup, played for France: led them to their first World Cup and second European Championship title to become Platini's equal in a lot of respects. Sure, he could have won more and wasn't as consistent at winning things, but he led his nation and major clubs to the biggest possible objectives, and only Juventus' inability to win the Champions League with him leaves a sour taste in the mouth when you reconsider his career. Messi is the superior player, as stated before, and has won more on aggregate — you could also argue that he is the greatest club footballer of all time as well as one of the greatest players of all time, but the fact that he couldn't clear the final hurdles of the World Cup and Copa América must be disappointing for him, particularly since most of the South American greats (Pelé, di Stéfano, Maradona, Ronaldo, Garrincha) have won at least one of those titles, if not both...and for Argentina in particular there's a lot of romance attached with the Jules Rimet trophy.
 
11101 said:
I do and i disagree with it. Messi himself says he would swap everything for a World Cup. Zidane has won every trophy he was able to win, and been totally instrumental in many of them. People are confusing who had the best career with who was the better player.
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Don't you also think that Messi might say that to endear himself to Argentinians? If he said anything else. He would be crufifed. But anyway, I get that the world cup is the ultimate prize and the highest high, but I just don't believe winning it once trumphs several league titles or CL's. It's all very subjective. If winning a WC just trumphs everything else then Özil has had a better career than most midfield legends. I just don't buy it.

Messi has been incredibly instrumental in many of his titles as well.
 
Obsession with trophies aside, it would be freaking awesome to score that many goals while being so great at dribbling, passing etc., so Messi it is.
 
11101 said:
I do and i disagree with it. Messi himself says he would swap everything for a World Cup.
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He said that when he had hardly won anything.
giorno said:
https://www.marca.com/2009/11/13/futbol/equipos/barcelona/1258137315.html

Don't you feel stupid now? :lol:
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Are you seriously quoting an article from 10 years ago when Messi literally hadn't won half as much as he has now? If you think Messi would swap his 5 Balon d'Ors, 4 Champions League and multiple League Titles for 1 World Cup, you need your head checking.
 
11101 said:
I do and i disagree with it. Messi himself says he would swap everything for a World Cup. Zidane has won every trophy he was able to win, and been totally instrumental in many of them. People are confusing who had the best career with who was the better player.
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A few people saying that and I don't get it.

It shouldn't necessarily be the only consideration but surely it's part of it? When you look back on your career thinking of what you could do on the pitch, how you felt about your own ability and the confidence it gave you etc. Not that Zidane shouldn't have that in bucketloads too, but I think I'd have it to an even higher level if I was Messi. I'd feel like I could dribble past anyone and stick the ball in the net at any time and that would hugely satisfying at the time and in the future when reminiscing about how immortal I felt in my playing days after I've retired.
 
Well after 50 years France would have won more world cups and produced similar players to Zizou. People would not remember Zidane as much but Messi will go down as the best ever player. So definitely Messi's career.
 
Invictus said:
I'd personally be happier with Zidane's career, if we're discussing only what they have won on a collective level instead of how talented/good the were (where Messi is the clear winner). Zidane in Italy: won the Serie A and domestic cups, in Spain: won the La Liga and the European Cup, played for France: led them to their first World Cup and second European Championship title to become Platini's equal in a lot of respects. Sure, he could have won more and wasn't as consistent at winning things, but he led his nation and major clubs to the biggest possible objectives, and only Juventus' inability to win the Champions League with him leaves a sour taste in the mouth when you reconsider his career. Messi is the superior player, as stated before, and has won more on aggregate — you could also argue that he is the greatest club footballer of all time as well as one of the greatest players of all time, but the fact that he couldn't clear the final hurdles of the World Cup and Copa América must be disappointing for him, particularly since most of the South American greats (Pelé, di Stéfano, Maradona, Ronaldo, Garrincha) have won at least one of those titles, if not both...and for Argentina in particular there's a lot of romance attached with the Jules Rimet trophy.
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For me there is something even more fundamental. Zidane has experienced things that Messi never did and probably never will. Messi played 99% of his games/seasons as the favorite, Zidane spent a large part of his career with outsiders and won when he wasn't supposed to, shone when he was supposed to be done.
In Zidane's career there are moments that creates something special, like his performance against Spain in 2006 when they were supposed to retire him and he simply shredded them. Messi is the superior player, he won far more but Zidane's career is for me a lot more fun.
 
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