I think one of the things we’ll remember about Neymar’s career is how much of his prime was lost to injuries, with most of them sustain from bad tackles. He plays in the same era as Messi and is subjected to the same sort of defending, yet he’s largely avoided those same challenges throughout his career despite demanding the ball at his feet as much as Neymar does. This is maybe more about Neymar’s counterproductive desire to embarrass defenders rather than just beat them, but it does put Messi’s long standing elusiveness in context.
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The current level of aggressiveness in football can’t be compared to what it was in the late seventies and eighties. It was terrible to be honest. Goikoetxea got a yellow for that tackle, that tells you everything.
Yeah, Messi’s elusiveness (or solidity?) has been remarkable, but I’m not sure that he’d lasted as long as he has if he had played during that time.
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Gascoigne just your standard overrated British player. Has a bit of skill and gets made out to be the next coming of Maradona. Never even hit double figures for goals in the league.
Looking forward to Jack Grealish’s career being reworked into that of a misunderstood genius in a few years.
FWIW I rate Zidane higher than most here it seems, had he been playing thesedays there’s no way he would have been wasted out wide for a chunk of his career - but 442 was the way back then.
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A quick youtube will show you Messi suffering countless attemped leg breaking tackles in his time. He’s come out on top against the likes of Pepe and Ramos, Simeone’s Atletico etc. Also South American football is about as dirty as it gets, I’m sure he’s suffered plenty when playing for Argentina.
Every team he’s played against has tried to kick him off the park since he was 17, it hasn’t worked.
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I get what you’re saying but no way is football as dirty as it used to be.
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Messi undoubtably puts his name up there with the 4 greatest ever players.
There’s something wrong with my app. The Portuguese Ronaldo is in there 
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Woops,
My bad.
Tour bus aborted after a fan jumps from the bridge onto the bus.
Players now all getting in choppers.
Wouldn’t wanna be that 1 fan ruining for 4 milllion like…
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Fair play Jordan.
So what, no modern day player can ever compare because old footballers used to get kicked by yard dogs?
The modern game is of a far higher standard and Messi is king of the modern game.
To return to topic for a second - Messi is a fucking wanker. Accepts millions that he, at this point, cannot possibly spend from dictatorial regimes who treat women and minorities like second class citizens. Plays for PSG, is an ambassador for Saudi Arabia. It’s really shitty.
On the pitch he’s clearly the best of his generation. The only knock against him is the lack of work he does off the ball but it is kind of irrelevant when he does so much with it. You could use his lack of a CL win since 14/15 as a knock on him but in almost all those seasons he played well individually but boneheaded management like teaming him up with Neymar and Mbappe, then being flabbergasted that teams counter attack you to death while they all amble around, or Barcelona deciding they were so good they didn’t need defenders anymore and Messi almost individually holding them together as a top club for half a decade etc.
Winning the World Cup does nothing for me in altering his legacy in the same way we don’t count goals in pre-season friendlies - it’s not serious competition. However, his legacy was already that of someone who has been the best player in the world for 12 or so years - pretty good going.
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Similarly, Maradona in the modern game would be at a ldvel that we cannot imagine.
If he had the resources, protection etc available to current players we wouldnt be talking about Messi vs Ronaldo.
Recency bias puts Messi as the GOAT. But he really is a tier lower than Maradona.
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Agreed completely. Now, extrapolate to Pele. And then again to Puskas.
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I remember talking to a former pro in 86 when Maradona destroyed England
He reckons Maradona was ahead of Pele, insofar as he was in a much weaker team than Pele was playing in.
He also had the belief that Maradonas body strenght and low centre of gravity was used to great effect, aligned with skill.
He has Puskas, Cruyff, Best and De Stefano behind those two.
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Was it Alan Hansen? Or Torben Piechnik?
I’d take the opinion of one above the other. 
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If the article is TLDR, here’s the summary: FIFA, the Qatari establishment, BBC, ITV and @SBYM hsd a wank.
Nobody else did.
Strikes me as a sign that he is their property
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Saudi’s will be having a word on that