Whose career would you rather have had? Messi or Zidane

Pass and Move

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Assuming Messi doesn’t win any international titles, but possibly a couple more league titles, whose career would you rather have had?

Messi’s or Zidane’s?
 
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I'm old enough to have followed Zidane's career from the beginning, and for me it's an extremely easy pick. Messi's every day of the week. I'm also assuming you mean player-career.
 
For trophies it would have to be Zidane. He's won everything, even if Messi is obviously the better player.

I think in 30 years time Messi will be remembered as one of a handful of greats instead of the best of the lot that many think he is now.
 
ekestubbe said:
I'm old enough to have followed Zidane's career from the beginning, and for me it's an extremely easy pick. Messi's every day of the week. I'm also assuming you mean player-career.
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Yep, managerial careers aside.
 
Messi is considered the GOAT by most and Zidane is not even in the conversation. Messi all the way.

If I were Messi I would have joined City (when Pep joined) and Spain though. Would have had a much better career.
 
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Whilst I agree with Messi as the GOAT, I think I’d rather have Zidane’s titles than the international ‘failure’ tag Messi will invariably get handed in the future.
 
11101 said:
For trophies it would have to be Zidane. He's won everything, even if Messi is obviously the better player.

I think in 30 years time Messi will be remembered as one of a handful of greats instead of the best of the lot that many think he is now.
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: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.
 
Only as players, undoubtedly Messi. Zidane has the world cup and euros, but Messi has almost ten more league titles, while being a better player in everything bar leadership. Messi is arguably the GOAT, Zidane is a top 20 player.

If you also consider also the managerial career, then it becomes a more interesting debate.
 
A Career isn't just how many trophies you've won. Messi has scored 600+ goals in roughly 700 games and broken all individual records and 5 ballon d'ors. It's shit's all over Zidane's other than he has greater international career.
 
I think I'd take Zidane. The World Cup is the greatest trophy in the sport, and at the end of the day, a football career is short so you need to think about the lasting effects of it.

Sure, Messi will be considered the better player, but he will only be a hero to Barcelona fans.

Zidane is a hero to his entire nation in a way that Messi will never be, and he also has legendary status at 2 of the greatest clubs in the world.
 
Messi: 10 La Ligas, 4 CLs, 6 Copa Del Rays, an Olympics medal, 5 Ballon d'Ors.

Zidane: 2 Serie As, 1 Supercoppa Italiana, 1 La Liga, 1 CL, 1 WC, 1 European Championship, 1 Ballon d'Or.

Zidane's collection is more varied but he ultimately won a lot less, largely because Messi was by far the better player of the two. So Messi, I think.
 
Pass and Move said:
Whilst I agree with Messi as the GOAT, I think I’d rather have Zidane’s titles than the international ‘failure’ tag Messi will invariably get handed in the future.
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I find the whole "a player can't be the GOAT if the hasn't won the World Cup" argument laughable. It's the go-to statement for those who are blinded by bias or childhood nostalgia of Maradona and others.

Of course if the 2014 final had gone the other way, which it very easily could have, they'd find an alternative excuse such as "Messi can't be the GOAT as he's only ever done it in Spain".

Now if someone wants to place a question mark over how much his HGH treatment as a 13/14 year old might have contributed to his development, including his explosive acceleration over the first 5-10 yards, that's a discussion worth having. It was necessary to overcome a medical condition - but did it give him an unfair advantage?
 
Messi's.

The international trophies are nice and all but Zidane "only" won 3 league titles and 1 proper European trophy and Messi has been a better player.

Possible positives for Zidane

- he played for different clubs so new starts/challenges/beginnings. Depends on persoanlity type, some might find that more stimulating than being a one club man (so far). Messi is a bit different from most one club men too, not coming from the same country as the team although I'm sure he loves Barcelona through and through.

- Zidane's managerial career if that's even up for consideration, again ties into more variation/new challenges.

Still I'd rather have been Messi.
 
Easily Messi. It doesn't get any better than being remembered as the best player to ever have played Football.
 
Dozer said:
I find the whole "a player can't be the GOAT if the hasn't won the World Cup" argument laughable. It's the go-to statement for those who are blinded by bias or childhood nostalgia of Maradona and others.

Of course if the 2014 final had gone the other way, which it very easily could have, they'd find an alternative excuse such as "Messi can't be the GOAT as he's only ever done it in Spain".

Now if someone wants to place a question mark over how much his HGH treatment as a 13/14 year old might have contributed to his development, including his explosive acceleration over the first 5-10 yards, that's a discussion worth having. It was necessary to overcome a medical condition - but did it give him an unfair advantage?
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HGH treatment just gives he the hormones he is not producing naturally. He just has the same levels as the rest of us who produces it naturally, so it gives him no advantage.
 
Zidane's obviously - proved himself at different clubs, won international titiles. Even though I think Messi is the superior player (GOAT candidate along with CR7, then Maradona, then Zidane) he'll always be seen as system baby who won nothing relevant without Xavi+Iniesta.
 
Not even close, Zidane for me. That's not to say he's a better player, Messi is probably the best of all time. But Zidane's international success, all time classic CL games he was involved with, playing in France, Italy and Spain, being part of the Galacticos, being a successful immigrant in his own country, I think his highs and sense of satisfaction must have been second to none. Messi has had a hugely impressive but relatively dull career in comparison I feel.
 
Dead Wood Woodward said:
Messi is an Olympic gold medallist so obviously him.
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Ì know it's fairly irrelevant in football but if I was a footballer I'd still be pretty damn pleased at being an Olympics Gold Medallist. It would pretty up the auld trophy cabinet quite nicely.
 
sullydnl said:
Ì know it's fairly irrelevant in football but if I was a footballer I'd still be pretty damn pleased at being an Olympics Gold Medallist. It would pretty up the auld trophy cabinet quite nicely.
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Yeah I was mostly joking but being a big fan of Kurt Angle as a kid has always made me value the Olympic gold highly. I remember being disappointed that Hernandez didn't get one when Mexico won it because he wanted a full preseason with United.
 
Halal Jalal said:
Zidane's obviously - proved himself at different clubs, won international titiles. Even though I think Messi is the superior player (GOAT candidate along with CR7, then Maradona, then Zidane) he'll always be seen as system baby who won nothing relevant without Xavi+Iniesta.
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Except most football fans don't even currently see him that way. Messi is currently seen as one of the greatest footballers of all time and that's how he'll always be remembered.

The "system baby" thing is a hallmark of the tedious Ronaldo v Messi internet debates that devalue both and that (thankfully) most football fans are apart from.
 
Zidane for me - Messi is the better player and has won more , but Zidane is respected in a completely different way to Messi.

And Zidane is a God in France, Messi isn't in Argentina
 
11101 said:
For trophies it would have to be Zidane. He's won everything, even if Messi is obviously the better player.

I think in 30 years time Messi will be remembered as one of a handful of greats instead of the best of the lot that many think he is now.
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:lol:

I know this is a United forum but god damn.
 
I loved and enjoyed Zidane more but there's no competition here, it's easily Messi.
 
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.
 
Messi is the better player and will be remembered as so, but Zidane has an aura around him on the international stage that few have.

Scored 2 goals in the 1998 WC Final to make him a hero in France.. then came back from retirement in 2006 to absolutely dominate teams like Brazil and Spain to lead France to the final once again. Of course then there's that penalty and the infamous headbutt.

Of course Messi has more domestically but very few players can make themselves a hero to their own country the way Zidane has.
 
trophies aside, I'd love to believe that I'm the best ever at something (football in this case) so it's quite an easy answer for me.
 
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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