Leo Messi

[Richard0]

i think he's about the most superb player i've seen. That was once wayne rooney but when i saw leo messi i said "this is the next diego armando maradona" Barca are lucky to have that quality on the pitch. At 18 he's already matched with wayne. He's 2 yrs younger than rooney and is already as potent.

excellent dribbler, amazing explosive pace, nice finishing. Real quality.

 

[Bodzilla]

Did you really say 'Armando'?

 

[Richter]

Amazing talent but not close to Rooney yet.

 

[alonso767]

another poster creaming himself at the thought of messi, great.

 

[An Extremely Boring Man]

He's 2 yrs younger than rooney and is already as potent.

Are you talking from experience?

 

[Richter]

Are you talking from experience?

 

[Marcus]

After the Obi debacle, I don't think we're ready for yet another messi transfer.

 

[bangortom]

After the Obi debacle, I don't think we're ready for yet another messi transfer.

 

[Warrington]

He will stay at Barca for life IMO. And he is no Maradona...... YET. Up there with Rooney as the best of the young bunch.

 

[Bodzilla]

After the Obi debacle, I don't think we're ready for yet another messi transfer.

His buyout clause is something like 120,000,000 euros.

 

[Giggsy PO]

His buyout clause is something like 120,000,000 euros.

No problem for Roman.

 

[Dowders_Jnr]

People need to chill on the Messi front. He looks very special, but lets see where he is and how he's doing in 12 months time before we start putting him on such lofty pedestals.

 

[MrMarcello]

another poster creaming himself at the thought of messi, great.

Scousers such as yourself would be jizzing themselves if Benitez lured him into signing for Liverpool.

 

[MUFC187]

Messi is outstanding. No doubt about that but he isn't at Rooney's level yet.

Messi is being eased into the Barca setup by Rijkaard and when he has off days, it is fine because he isn't integral to Barca yet as they have Ronaldinho and Eto'o as their main threats.

Rooney is playing and often performing every single game and is United's best player.

 

[scalisto]

Messi is too young to be compared with Rooney or anybody else. Still, a great prospect for us.

Besides, Rooney's style and field position are different. He's more like Tevez.

I'd pay silly money to see those three on the same team, what a riot!

 

[DJSpaz]

Amazing talent but not close to Rooney yet.

Rooney's strength & power edges it, IMO....

 

[kafta]

I think the world cup is where he will either make ot big, or turn out to be another dissapointment...i think bright future

 

[Striker10]

the time to judge a players surely when things aren't going so well, it's easy for a talented boy to look good in a team that are playing well. Messi looks very good but without him barca would probally still be faves to win the spanish league.Talent comes and goes, it's not always furfilled. I remember robhinios debut (not sure that's spelt right) but people were drooling...he's got 2 goals all season something like that and from what i've seen if ronaldos a 'showpony' so is he. Let's not big people up and give them titles before they actually do something in the game....bellion the next henry, i'd love to meet the person who first came up with that one...

 

[Bodzilla]

Robinho just puts his head down and tries to dribble all the time. Messi has much more to his game.

 

[Striker10]

people go overboard, how can anyone say anyones better now? Rooneys 20 messis 18 just let them play. It's like the people that critisise ronaldo, you can point out his flaws i do he's a big talent but he won't futfil his potential if mentally he's not right. Judge then when they're 25 -30 to form opinions now is just silly because you you need mental strength to be a great player. Rooneys been tested and will be tested. Messi is a talented boy playing in a team with alot of confidence in attacking so it's been easy for him. The makeup of a great player ain't just being talented ...

 

[Red15]

There's an excellent article on Messi in the latest issue of Four Four Two. Some of the more interesting bits:

- Six months ago Messi was playing for Barclelona's B team. After watching Messi star for Argentina in the U20 World Championships in Holland last summer, LaPorta hot-footed over to Holland, improved Messi's contract from about £100,000 a year to £3m a year. The deal runs 'til 2014 and has a £100 million buyout clause, which is the same as Ronaldinho's.

- He gets along well with the Brazilian players at Barcelona. Ronaldinho calls him "my little brother". Sylvinho is like a second father to him and Deco takes him shopping. Even though he's Argentinian, he gets invited to sit at the "Brazilian table" at the training ground/at hotels.

- He was born and raised a couple of hundred miles outside of Buenos Aires. He was diagnosed with growth problems when he was 11, had to inject himself with hormones every night for 2 years. The treatment cost $1,800 every 2 months. When the Argentinian club he was afiiliated with refused to pay for the treatment, Messi's family visited cousins of his in Spain (the family has Catalan roots). Barcelona was alerted to his talent by one of their Argentinian scouts, Messi went for a trial, and the rest is history. Barca paid for his treatment. He grew by a centimetre a month for almost 3 years, reaching 5'6". Other clubs were becoming interested in him and Messi's father says that a man introduced himself as an assistant of Wenger and told him that if they had problems to remember that Arsenal was very interested.

- He has a low-key lifestyle, lives in a modest rented flat close to the Nou Camp with his sister-in-law and brother, who works as a cook in a Barcleona hotel. He doesn't go out much, prefers to stay home listening to music, watching TV, surfing the net and he wants to learn English.

- Maradona's advice to Messi: "Don't pay attention when journalists compare you with me. I've seen what you've done in the U20 World Cup. You knew Argentina was just you and you coped with that without problems. Only a few players can stand that sort of pressure".

- Maradona's comments on Messi on his Argentine TV show - "I've seen the guy who is going to inherit my place in Argentinian football and his name is Messi.

 

[jatin]

the lad is great but he's being too hyped up by some

first of all finishing is some way off the mark,
takes too many shots out of the box,
dribbles a lot, when he could pass it players in better positions,

I agree that he has great potential but he's not as good right now as people make him out to be

put him up against keano and you'll see

he needs to mature

 

[alonso767]

Scousers such as yourself would be jizzing themselves if Benitez lured him into signing for Liverpool.

typically i dont wank to the thought of a new signing.

but to each his own.

 

[MrMarcello]

Surely Barcelona didn't really raise his salary to 3m after a 6 match run against teenagers. That's a huge risk for a club to pay a teenager high wage when he's never made a first team appearance. I don't think Ronaldo got that much per season when he signed with United initially. Rooney got a mega wage packet, but he'd established himself at Everton and with the English national team.

- Six months ago Messi was playing for Barclelona's B team. After watching Messi star for Argentina in the U20 World Championships in Holland last summer, LaPorta hot-footed over to Holland, improved Messi's contract from about £100,000 a year to £3m a year. The deal runs 'til 2014 and has a £100 million buyout clause, which is the same as Ronaldinho's. -

 

[Plechazunga]

Did you really say 'Armando'?

That's what I was going to ask

 

[Mozza]

Surely Barcelona didn't really raise his salary to 3m after a 6 match run against teenagers.

I doubt that as well

 

[Richard0]

That's what I was going to ask

yeah armando its his MIDDLE name big giant duh!!

and red15 nice post i didn't know you were a stalker. Lol J/K thx for the info though.

 

[RedRonaldo]

I believe he has great potential
But not until he play consistently well over a season or two
There's no way you can say he can match Rooney

 

[vijay]

Some time back when Villareal were interested in José Manuel Llaneza of the Independiente, the media had already labelled him as the new Lionel Messi. What has Messi done so far to warrant another player as his clone? Sure he is an amazing talent but overhyped and I wont be surprised if he breaks down in another three or four seasons.

 

[Longlivekeano]

The list of future 'Maradona' breakdowns is sure to stop with Leo Messi

He will definitely end the Argentinian's search for the new Maradona...in fact, I think he might even add new qualities which Maradona (whom I am convinced is the best player this planet has ever produced) lacked

List of 'Maradonas' in Argentina toute as the next best thing before something screwed up their potential

1.Ariel Ortega (shit this guy even looks like Maradona); now plyaing in river Plate and doing quite well after being banned by FIFA for a yera or so for signing for two clubs simultaneously (ie: Fenerbahce & River Plate) I think

2.Marcello Gallardo (never really advanced, only subs in the national team tgough recently played well for Monaco a few seasons ago)..dont know where he is now

3. Pablo Aimar (he really had tremendous potential but despite all his skills, never had the strength or consistensy to continue his rise to stardom)..has faded somewhat at Valencia playing second fiddle to new flavour of the season, David Villa (whom United were interested at some point last season)

4. Alessandro d Alessandro (at one point had United, Juventus chsing this shit hot prospect) but landed up at...Wolfsburg. Have nice diribbling skills, distribution, a heck of a left foot but also lacked strength & pace & consistency of Maradona

5. Roman Riquelme (slowly starting to rediscover his best form as believed by many..but this is not true. He was already great at Boca Junirs and not given a chance by Barcelona despite playing extreely well, scoring and creating in his few appearances because he did not fit into the Barca system of play....now taking over thew mantle of midfield meastro in the national side but need to start winning things, trophies before he ca be categorized on the same frequency as Maradona (Still he is a supremley great player, able to control the pace and flow of the game)..O have doubts whether he can play in the Premiership though as balls tend to bypass the midfiled as defenders tend to hoof it upfield in classic Route 1 English football

6.SEba Veron....nuff known about him (superb in CL where matches are open, not as fsat paced but he makes Forlan look good in the premiership)...playing ok-ish in INter Milan right now...useful setpiece player

7.Redondo.....woah this guy really had everything..skill, pace, distribution but suffered terrible injuries so that he is more of the Darren Anderton-Jamie redknapp kind tham Maradona...had some excellent displays for Argentina & Real Madrid though

....Trust me..Messi will be the next maradona....he is small sized but has deceptive upper body strength to hold off larger defenders

 

[Red15]

Surely Barcelona didn't really raise his salary to 3m after a 6 match run against teenagers. That's a huge risk for a club to pay a teenager high wage when he's never made a first team appearance. I don't think Ronaldo got that much per season when he signed with United initially. Rooney got a mega wage packet, but he'd established himself at Everton and with the English national team.

The article also did say that he featured in 7 first-team games last season, although totalling just 77 first-team minutes.

I think the reason why they upped his salary so much is that apparently clubs like Real Madrid, Internazionale, and Milan were showing a real interest in him after the tournament. And there has been a real buzz about Messi for awhile now. I remember watching the first goal he scored for Barca last season and how the Sky commentators were talking him up even then.

 

[Red15]

and red15 nice post i didn't know you were a stalker.

Ah hem, coming from someone who started the thread and who describes Messi as "potent"...okay, whatever.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

looks to have loads of talent, and his flashes of brilliance are as good as anything.. but cant really compare him to Rooney right now, who at 20, is carrying a Manchester United team with lots of problems, and is week in week out putting on great displays. Messi's just walked into the best team in Europe and the best attacking side around..

 

[tengy]

well once the cnut gets started on coke, then he will the next marra

 

[Reflectorboy]

Messi is class

 

[Mithun]

looks to have loads of talent, and his flashes of brilliance are as good as anything.. but cant really compare him to Rooney right now, who at 20, is carrying a Manchester United team with lots of problems, and is week in week out putting on great displays. Messi's just walked into the best team in Europe and the best attacking side around..

but messi' star shines apart (excepting dinho) in a superb attacking orientated team

 

[An Extremely Boring Man]

but messi' star shines apart (excepting dinho) in a superb attacking orientated team

Could someone translate this one please?

 

[MThomas]

Could someone translate this one please?

= bla bla bla, blablablablablabla, blablabla blabla bla

 

[Bodzilla]

We will buy Messi and loan him to Hercules so he can't play against us. Take that, Barca!

 

[Stamford Bridge]

Overrated and overhyped.

Would last six minutes in the Premiership. Likes too much time with the ball and a bit of a fairy. In fact, even in La Liga he gets too much time to do whatever he likes because the other teams defence are too busy watching Ronaldinho.

In my personal opinion if he ever moves to the Prem, he'll be found out like Reyes.