As @Invictus said, what makes him eligible for GOAT debate apart from his accomplishments are, are his talent as a player. He is arguably the greatest goal scorer, dribbler and playmaker of all time, all rolled into one.
Lionel Messi is OFFICIALLY the Greatest Player of all Time (CONFIRMED OFFICIAL)
- Thread starter Pexbo
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Yes but the gnome extended his legs
You have to almost feel sorry for the Ronaldo fanboys like @Cal? and @SportingCP96 who have spent so much time and energy in a debate that has got shredded in a matter of minutes.
Tbf we don't know the debate has been shredded. Someone should re-open the Messi v Ronaldo poll so we can see.
Fantastic game and fitting end to his career. Messi was already one of the all time greats so now he has that monkey off his back.
I dont subscribe to the GOAT rubbish as football is too complex for such reductive junk.
What a journey though for messi. That was emotional to sew him lift it.
I dont subscribe to the GOAT rubbish as football is too complex for such reductive junk.
What a journey though for messi. That was emotional to sew him lift it.
GOAT.
Tbf, you literally just needed to watch them….& all that energy could have been better spent elsewhere…
Great write-up.
So you've got Messi ahead of Pele now? I remember in the top 30 positional voting done on the cafe a few years ago, you had Pele ahead of Messi for the top 30 forwards.
I've always docked Messi a bit in the argument vs Pele/Maradona, because of the lack of great performances at the WC. I never needed Argentina to win the WC, but I wanted to see him drive a team forward at the World Cup with performances that galvanize an entire nation. And he finally did that. Hindsight is 20-20, but I'm pretty sure the majority of Argentinians were way more confident beating France today than they were vs Germany in 2014. I'm not going to attribute all of that entirely to Messi, but his role can't ignored either.
Still find it hard to pick 1 player as the best, but Messi objectively does have the best argument.
Hard to argue against now that he has had that World Cup apart from also being one of the best goalscorers of all time as well as one of the best playmakers of all time. Ronaldo is barely even in the same tier anymore, let alone greater.
Yep, people forget that the PL was rather average from 2012 to 2017 and before that, it wasn't exactly better than La Liga.
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Aside from the GOAT debate, it's just rare for a football career to have such neat narrative.
You can't call Messi the GOAT because of one match, when he didn't even score a great goal in the final. He wasn't even the best player in the match.
That being said be is the Greatest of all Time.
That being said be is the Greatest of all Time.
There's no argument for anybody bar Messi being the GOAT, and there wasn't before this world cup either. World cups are massively important for countries and players really want to win them, but the quality of a champions league is higher. This idea that you have to win the WC to be the GOAT is nonsense. That's my two cents
Except he was the best player in the final? He scored two, played a lovely pass for another and created so much from the middle of the park - he pretty much had a good game for the entire 120 (probably excluding a stretch of 10-15 mind where ARG were stunned)
But yeah it's silly to base anything off one game.
Yep, it's definitely nonsense. Aside from anything else, it would mean a player would be precluded from being the greatest if they happened to be born in a weak enough country.
In this case winning the WC just means that one of the worst arguments against this particular player isn't a thing any more. If Argentina had lost that penalty shoot-out, Messi would still be the same player.
Still didn't beat Stoke, the one that got away...
Always liked him, just don't like the dickriding contest everyone's itching to engage in when his name gets mentioned. People rightly make fun of Piers when it comes to Ronaldo - but Lineker has been as nauseating when speaking about Messi.
It's settled. I hope Ronaldo and his fanboys cry themselves to sleep tonight.
I know people say “he didn’t really need this if you know your football” and yes, that’s likely true, but he did kind of need it for the wider narrative, as it would always be something brought up, because these types of debates are boring and subjective and arbitrary a lot of the timeZ
The good thing is its now basically a completely clean, closed debate.
The good thing is its now basically a completely clean, closed debate.
What about Pelé? Also perfect goalscorer., dribbler and playmaker rolled into one.
It does help when VAR even gifts him offside goals.
But it is what it is, based on his achievements, he's GOAT, there I said it, happy?
Absolutely. All hail the one and true GOAT.
He finally raised himself to the level of pele, maradona, bald ronaldo, ronaldinho, zidane and guivar’ch
Which goal was offside?
This thread needs to be reopened to answer and agree with the op 14 years later: https://www.redcafe.net/threads/lionel-messi.225097/
Yes
Yes
He'll never succeed as a BPL CB.
Add to that, he is one of the most decorated players ever, having won: 1 World Cup, 1 Continental Cup, 4 UCLs, 11 league titles (will be 12 in a few months), 7 National Cups, 7 Ballon D'Ors, 2 World Cup Golden Balls, 6 European Golden Shoes. He is the highest assist maker in the history of football and the third top scorer (with less than 30 goals than the top one so has a chance of finishing first).
With all respect to Maradona and Pele, Messi is on another level to them.
For me it is:
Tier GOAT: Messi
Tier 1: Pele, Maradona
Tier 2: Cristiano (could be argued to be in Tier 1), Di Stefano, Cruyff
Tier 3: Beckenbauer, Platini, Best, Puskas, Ronaldo
Tier 4: Zidane, Eusebio, Charlton, Van Basten, Muller and a few others.
With regards to Messi vs Maradona, Messi is essentially Maradona, but with 3 times as many goals, more assists, and a dozen more top-tier trophies.
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It'll now be Pele, Maradona and Messi mentioned for years to come. The world cup seals that, Ronaldo fell short. Witnessing a 'Maradona' in Messi in my generation is something I will cherish. GOAT
Ich bin ein Messi
Holy shit.
What offside goals? They had like 4 offside goals disallowed in a row vs Saudi Arabia
I'm never going to watch this match or any highlights of it ever, I thought his tap-in was offside, but frankly don't care.
Cal said Messi is GOAT, who cares about him accusing Messi of offside goals
Happy to have waited for my place in the queue. Messi is the greatest player of all time and I will never see anyone better.
Of course it wasn't.
No need to think that anymore, it wasn't offside.
Messi lasting memory will be him lifting the world cup for his country.
Ronaldo lasting memory will be him bitching to Piers fecking Morgan
Ronaldo lasting memory will be him bitching to Piers fecking Morgan
Nopes in our screen they showed it clearly in animation. It clearly wasnt.