Messi surpasses the era of Pele, Maradona and Ronaldo! Why is Lionel Messi the real GOAT of football?
Lionel Messi: Who is the real ‘GOAT’ of the football world or should I say ‘Greatest of all time’? This is a debate that will continue for centuries with sips of tea-coffee and plates of samosas and pizza. Every era has had its heroes. One was Pele who proved himself to be a master of football with three World Cups and his magical game. Then came Maradona, he also single-handedly made Argentina the football crown in 1986. Then came Cristiano Ronaldo, the steely body chiseled in the gym and the goal-scoring machine. But Lionel Messi? I say Messi deletes this debate. Watching them play on the field is a different kind of intoxication. Seeing him, it often comes to mind that brother, is he a human being of flesh and blood or has God sent him on earth by giving him a football joystick and saying, ‘Go son, play to your heart’s content!’
Barcelona’s King’s journey through illness
I remember that when Argentina won the Copa America by defeating Brazil in 2021, I was curious to know the past of Messi’s life. After this, I was forced to watch a documentary about Messi. It turned out that Messi’s story is like a fairy tale, which like the life of the heroes of our Hindi films, has gone through very difficult struggles.
Maybe some of you may not know, then let me tell you that this boy, born in Rosario, a small town in Argentina, had a disease called ‘Growth Hormone Deficiency’ in his childhood. His legs were short and the family did not have the money for expensive treatment. But then Spain’s football club Barcelona recognized the extraordinary talent hidden in this short boy. He bore the expenses of Messi’s treatment and included him in his ‘La Masia’ academy. After which Messi never looked back.
World Cup 2026 and ‘Messi’s magic’
Even though Messi is the captain of Argentina, his fans are present all over the world. Even in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Messi scored a hat-trick against Algeria and completed his 16th goal in tournament history. Now Messi has equaled the historical record of Germany’s Miroslav Klose for most World Cup goals. Records themselves run after this magical player, who is playing in his sixth World Cup and 200th international match. But the real magic of Messi lies in his game beyond the statistics.
Great coach Pep Guardiola once said about Messi that ‘sticking the ball with his feet at such a speed is against physics.’ Now, no matter what anyone may think, Messi walks silently on the field and scans the opposition team as if a doctor is looking at an X-ray. He senses where the weakness lies in the defence, and then suddenly makes such a magical pass that the opposite team gets stunned. Messi’s game is full of talent, grace and modern football science.
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How fair is the comparison between Ronaldo and Messi?
Often people compare Ronaldo and Messi, but I think there is a big difference between the two. Ronaldo is an amazing player, the real king of the penalty box. It seems that just give him the ball and he will score a goal and finish the job. He has his own distinct swag. But Messi… it would not be right to call him just a player. In my view, Messi is a complete football institute. He writes the script himself, directs it himself and becomes the hero in the climax and even scores the goal himself.
Messi does not need any solid support or magical pass from behind to score a goal. Coming from behind in the midfield, snatching the ball, making moves and then breaking through the entire defense and entering the goal post. This is the magic of Messi. Let me tell you an interesting statistic, Messi not only has more than 800 goals in his name, but he also has the highest number of assists i.e. making others score goals in the history of football. The meaning is clear, the guy not only steals the limelight himself, but also creates opportunities for the entire team.
Also read:- FIFA World Cup 2026: The footballer who scored a goal for Uruguay has a special connection with India.
Even beyond the classic period of Pele-Maradona
Old time fans often praise Pele and Maradona, my father used to say that the game of Maradona cannot be compared with anyone. But boss, we have to accept that today’s modern football has become very cruel and cutthroat. There is no time to breathe on the field today. Fitness, speed and mind games have all become 10 times more difficult.
During this difficult period, Messi was taunted for years that ‘he is the lion of Barcelona, he is a champion for Argentina’, but this lion silenced everyone with his silence. First, they won the Copa America by defeating Brazil in 2021 and then came that memorable Qatar World Cup of 2022. At the age of 35, when players start thinking of retirement, Messi scored a goal in every knockout match, scored two goals in the thriller of the final and died after making Argentina the world champion. Even in 2026, hopes have come alive once again.
Simplicity and ‘no-drama’ with data!
Another thing that makes me the biggest fan of Messi is his simplicity and no-drama attitude. While many other greats of modern football seem to have ‘I, Me, Myself’ ego, Messi appears to be completely down-to-earth in his team. If he has to take a penalty on the field, he smiles and gives it to his teammate so that his confidence can increase. The speakers will then say that all this is there in that player too, this player too… then why only Messi? So the answer is that someone who has 8 Ballon d’Or, Copa America for the country and a shining World Cup in his hand, every trophy of club football, crazy fans all over the world… now what else does he need to prove himself? Pele was the uncrowned king of his era, Maradona was the soul of Argentina and Ronaldo is the ultimate poster boy of modern fitness. But Messi is a super-refined combination of all these, ruling for 20 consecutive years is no coincidence. The conclusion is that when the coming generations remember this period, they will proudly say that ‘we have seen the era of Messi.’
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Also read:- FIFA World Cup: Lionel Messi created history by scoring a hat-trick, putting the German legend’s record in danger
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