why is it great to watch?It is isnt it? You on the other end is a very fashionable guy. Guy kept getting worse and worse every year ever since xavi & iniesta.
Barcelona under Koeman shows that he was always relying on Barcelona's footballing ability as much as Barcelona was relying on his.
One last move to a different league and watch him struggle and all his bend on knees fans will blame on his age.
Great to watch.
Messi v Ronaldo | Contains double your daily salt allowance
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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Probably because he and his team beat us in two CL finals, blocking what was probably SAF's best team. I love watching Messi play but his and Barca slowing down has been satisfying to watch
No need to argue with you, you're discrediting your own opinion better than I ever could with such posts.It is isnt it? You on the other end is a very fashionable guy. Guy kept getting worse and worse every year ever since xavi & iniesta.
Barcelona under Koeman shows that he was always relying on Barcelona's footballing ability as much as Barcelona was relying on his.
One last move to a different league and watch him struggle and all his bend on knees fans will blame on his age.
Great to watch.
It just proves that it's not about his football for you and never was.
I predicted this will probably be his worst season since he really hit the stage, due to him wanting out last season and still wanting out, the somewhat dire situation of the squad and the club, another mediocre manager and I think he's past his best and playing deeper. He doesnt have the freakish athletic attributes to have amazing longevity, but he can probably still have a decent output for CAM or playmaker for a season or two. I don't think he is going to win anymore Ballon D'ors.
His finishing is definitely off this season so far. His passing though..
Hey, I thought a goal was a goal? Are you now telling me penalties are easier to score?
That's not what the Ronaldo fanboys were saying after he scored like 17 penalties in the league last year.
I’m sorry, this can’t go unchallenged, he’s been a Barcelona first teamer for 15 years, pretty much all of the best player in the team. That is already freakish longevity.
Valid point. I guess I just mean compared to Ronaldo who doesn't seem to age. But yeah he's pretty much been the best or 2nd best player in world since 2008.
Great match by Messi yesterday, MOTM. Juventus isn't big enough?
1 goal, 1 assist, 110 contacts, 95% passing accuracy, 7/8 successful dribblings and people criticize him because he only scored through a penalty (although he created the situaiton that lead to it himself). His finishing isn't really on point and generally not in the form of his life but performances like this would be lauded universally if it was any other player offering them.
He and Ronaldo are the most reliable players and have been for the past 15 years now, I like Messi more but they are the best players in the world.
Vieri last night: " When Messi retires I'll throw away my TV. He is a magician".
Has Father Time caught up to Messi? Saw the game yesterday and that was a laughably bad performance. He was not even recognizable.
He has been piss poor All season and though Koeman is shite this Barca team is much much better then 10th place in La Liga.
Messi lost the bal 23(!) times yesterday.
You can see he is not the same anymore and that's worrying for both Barca and football fans a like. They should of maybe taken the City money and ran with it tbh.
He has been piss poor All season and though Koeman is shite this Barca team is much much better then 10th place in La Liga.
Messi lost the bal 23(!) times yesterday.
You can see he is not the same anymore and that's worrying for both Barca and football fans a like. They should of maybe taken the City money and ran with it tbh.
For a while now, not just based on last night. However his peak was so ridiculously that even when he was steadily decreasing, his output was still amazing. Barca missed a huge opportunity to cash in on him.
I agree.
Barca should of taken the money from City because the truth is I think Messi will just keep getting worse as the years go by. You see what is happening in La Liga so now Imagine the prem.
The good thing for Barca is City will probably still want him because it would be a brand move for a small club like city to get someone like Messi.
Isn’t he on his last year? so Barce will not get anything when he leaves.
I would love him in the prem even if it feels like it's too late now. I think he would still be amazing provided he displays more hunger. There are much inferior players to him who do well in the prem, I just don't know if Messi would have that will to show he's still THE Messi we know he can be.
Is he? I don't know tbh.
I'd like to see him go to Italy.
What, you of all people doubt it? Jesus, this means he's finished for good this time.
But I wouldn't advice him to play in the US to be honest. Covid is devastating there and in his current condition, this might be really dangerous. Also, imagine the exhaustion after such a long flight. It's not save that he'll recover from such a stress in his age and health.
Not even bringing up a debate with Ronaldo so dont try to swing it that way.
I am just calling it how it is he has been very poor this season. Going to the prem would potentially be a bad move cause I doubt he will get better in the prem considering how he Is doing in la Liga.
He always said he wanted to go play in Argentina so it's not a bad idea to go to Newell and retire in 2 years or something like that.
With everything that's been going on at Barca it's tough to say how much is mental and how much it's physical. One thing that's obvious is that he should rest a lot more than he does, it's crazy that at 33 he still wants to play every game. Ronaldo who was much more obsessed with his numbers and playing all the time got to a certain age and learnt that he'd be better off sitting out of certain matches from time to time. Messi just keeps playing every time with no rest at all, it's insane. I think he'd be in much better form if he got rested a lot more often.
As for his future I'm pretty sure he'll end up staying at Barca, new board will come in, they'll get Xavi as manager and he'll decide to stay. They need to solve it as soon as possible though, the longer the tension builds the more toxic things will get at Barca.
As for his future I'm pretty sure he'll end up staying at Barca, new board will come in, they'll get Xavi as manager and he'll decide to stay. They need to solve it as soon as possible though, the longer the tension builds the more toxic things will get at Barca.
Newell couldn't afford his wage. We are talking about 1 million per week. He should either stay in Barca to end his career, or try out his luck in City. The whole team will build around him anyway so will be good enough to cover for his weakness. If that's too competitive week-in week-out for his age maybe he could go to PSG to rejoin his friend Neymar, and has an easy life there.
Of course you aren't. That's also why you immediately jumped to the vs.-Thread and not the Messi one. Funny thing is that in the exact same situations you were calling out people who thought Cristiano was finished. And no, Messi hasn't been playing particularly good but he also had some very impressive games, too, like the one against Juve or Betis. A quick research also shows he already has 4 man of the match awards this season, has the second highest average rating in La Liga and is leading in shots per game, successful dribblings per game, sits in fifth at deadly passes per game and is probably the player with the most pre-assists in any major league right now.
Thing is, although these stats would be career highlights for most players out there, they're below average for him so it might be reasonable to think that he has regressed. However, since his form "coincidentally" dropped off a cliff after the he was forced to stay and Koeman was appointed, chances are that he simply doesn't give a feck right now or wants to put pressure on the club to let him leave. Anyway, suggesting he should go to the MLS is just plain ridiculous when even in his current form he's still easily one of the best players in a European top league.
So, considering all that the only conclusion is that your "opinion" is agenda driven to say it politely. In actuality it is so heavily agenda driven that anybody taking you serious on Ronaldo related topics is ill advised.
I have long thought Ronaldo would stay at a higher level than Messi when they get older. I reckon Ronaldo still has 4-5 years at the elite level and then a couple years below that. I think Messi may well be in is final decent year.
Stegen faster than Messi?
Wtf happened to him
Wtf happened to him
Messi can still function very well as a creator, still a great passer, but he needs to realize his limitations now, he loses the ball way too often because he thinks he can still out-turn and accelerate past everyone, he also isnt even close to being the finisher he was.
I typed Messi on the search engine and only the transfer window topic popped up.
Everyone always knew Ronaldo would last longer.
Messi has been showing signs of decline already.
I don’t feel like having a VS debate because like I said I did not want to do that.
So has Ronaldo. Both changed their game styles because of this. Didn't Messi break the assist record and was highest goalscorer last season? You can't just blame his poor performances entirely on a decline after that summer saga and him clearly not being happy at Barcelona
Lets be honest, he's on holiday and Barca and its quite petty. I love Leo, best player of all time for me. But this is Sanchez trying to get out of Arsenal level stuff, he also looks depressed out of his mind there. Funny enough if you told me 6 months ago we'd be getting Messi I've have been thrilled. Now I don't want him and really hope we don't move for him in January and spend the money on someone much younger. He'll be a top player when away from Barca that I'm sure of but his performances have been pretty much a guy half trying for awhile.
Himself and Ronnie are still neck and neck, but the difference in application when they are unhappy is something to behold.
Himself and Ronnie are still neck and neck, but the difference in application when they are unhappy is something to behold.
Man, this is just so shortsighted and ignorant, it's almost painful to read. "Everyone always knew Ronaldo would last longer" - what the hell are you even talking about? You make it sound as if that was a fact when in reality many people used to argue that Messi as a player less reliant on physique would have a greater longevity throughout their careers. That's not necessarily my opinion by the way, but the things you sometimes post.. jesus.
Also, Cristiano has gone through dry patches like the one Messi currently goes through multiple times and to this date has recovered from every single one of them. I don't know what you're intending right now. Are you trying to provoke because you feel you have to get back at a few people who said mean things about CR7 back then? Honestly, I'm really wondering because I struggle to find another explanation why you're posting such nonsensical stuff. Especially since you must know yourself how stupid those statements are considering that you've participated extensively in these very discussions.
I don't know what to make of this season with Messi, I mean he clearly stated he wanted to leave and if he already seemed like a lazy player at times him being unmotivated it's just not going to be good. So all in all it can be expected from him this dip in form and it seems he really needs to find a new team and new challenge to get his motivation and joy back.
I also think a club can make investments with a better long term perspective. If Messi was to follow Ronaldo's path he'd have 2-3 years left at the top level. That's worth something but there are other paths to success which are more sustainable, I guess. Then again, if you have the chance to sign such a player and elevate your clubs standing by employing one of the all time greats.. might be worth it. IMO it doesn't look like anyone could fulfill his footsteps in the near future. Moukoko maybe if he is in fact what he is promised to be. Wouldn't put too much emphasis on him acting like a princess right now. Barca has been at shambles for quite a few years right now and he never looked like he currently does. I guess you'd need to royally feck up to have him reach that state in the span of 2 or 3 years.
That was always a bad assessment, football is a sport after all so physical attributes would always have a great impact in how a player performs and how they will inevitable degrade as they get older. So physicality is also a characteristic in Messi and both him and Ronaldo have been very good at maintaining their fitness for so long and not getting as much injuries as other players. Messi after all needed medical assistance to overcome his growth deficit, otherwise he wouldn't be the player we all know by now. With that being said I believe him and Ronaldo can still play at the top level for few more years, it all depends on how professional they are about taking care of their bodies and managing the amount of minutes they play each season as they won't have the same endurance and resistance when they were in their mid 20s.
Problem is Messi and Ronaldo are gigantic cash cows for their clubs; I've seen loads of Barcelona shirts over the past decade, and none of them had any other player on the back. They're as close to footballing gods as anyone can be, their social media account followings probably dwarf all other clubs. Juventus' popularity exploded when they signed Ronaldo. Once Messi leaves Barcelona, I think we'll see a similar reverse movement. Their wages are obviously astronomical, but so are their outputs off the field
If Messi was smart he'd move to an easier league like Serie A so he could keep up his scoring stats with other geriatrics like Zlatan, Ronaldo and Quagliarela.
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