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Lionel Messi

Maradona played football at a time when the World Cup was the pinnacle and he dominated it.

Messi plays football at a time when the Champions League is the pinnacle and he dominates it.

No ... Maradona lifted both club and country to heights neither had achieved before.

Messi's CLUB dominates CL, it would be hard to say without Messi, Barca wouldn't be successful.

Said it in other thread, Messi in a Barca team is one of the greats, outside of it, he has failed to live up to that expectation
 
I agree with a post by Jurgen in another thread -- that Messi is the best ever player in club football, but is behind Maradona and Zidane for International Tournament football.

Then again, he's behind Miroslav Klose in international tournament football too. I'm not sure how many would be putting Klose in their team ahead of Messi though.

It's the hyperbole around players like Maradona that gets me though. He is certainly in the conversation for best ever, but to say that "Messi isn't in his class" is nonsense that so many top football coaches (Wenger, Cruyff to name but two) would disagree with. They are in the same category, as two of the best players of all time and the best players of their generation. Discounting the European Cup/Champions league because that happens to favour Maradona is as ridiculous as discounting the World Cup/Copa America because it favours Messi.

I agree re the point about Klose. The one thing Maradona has in his favour is that he proved it at club level too. As Parklane mentioned, Maradona won the league with a provincial Napoli side when Serie A was dominated by Milan. His club achievements do not compare to Messi, but he has excelled at both levels.
 
No ... Maradona lifted both club and country to heights neither had achieved before.

Messi's CLUB dominates CL, it would be hard to say without Messi, Barca wouldn't be successful.

Said it in other thread, Messi in a Barca team is one of the greats, outside of it, he has failed to live up to that expectation

They wouldn't. Don't know if you have ever watched them when he's not played, but they do struggle, relatively. Unless they have another striker in the reserves who could bang in 50-60 goals a season, I don't see how they could overcome Bayern, Real, Atletico et al.
 
Did you ever see Maradona play?
Yes. And Pele. And Kruyff. And Zidane. And Best. ETC. ETC. ETC.

In my humble opinion Messi is on a par with Pele and consequently on a slightly higher level than the rest.

But the bottom line is we're privileged to be witnessing a genius at work. Comparisons of the above is just flimflam. Appreciate all of them for what they are.
 
Anyone else think the Messi Maradona debate is a bit boring at this stage. It's almost impossible to compare really as there are too many other factors at play.

I find it quite interesing. It only gets boring when people try to put down one or the other to make their point.
 
he's fudging brilliant, others have been fudging brilliant in the past, others will be fudging brilliant in the future

this isn't highlander
 
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Maradona played football at a time when the World Cup was the pinnacle and he dominated it.

Messi plays football at a time when the Champions League is the pinnacle and he dominates it.


this in spades but also the sheer weight of matches in the domestic season and the fact that players nowadays have barely a month off every 2 years, speed kills but fatigue is like playing with a perpetual hangover, messi gives his all for barca and is running on fumes by the time the summer tournaments start
 
Messi=poor man's Alex Pritchard, the guy's going to be awesome....

Seriously loved seeing Maradona at the Lane one of those special moments in my Spurs memory bank. Just for the record though Glenn will always be my all time fave player.
 
These arguments never stand up for me, it is possible for players to be great within their own time and not have to be compared to those that came before them.

Its near on impossible to compare footballers especially so many years apart.

Messi is great in todays game as Messi, as was Maradona as was Pele as was Gazza
 
Seems crazy that we don't have a thread dedicated to the greatest player, to ever grace the game (IMHO).

This thread isn't intended to spark a Ronaldo/Messi debate, more to celebrate the fact that we are able to witness a living legend at the height of his powers.

I for one, am immensely grateful that in this era of HD games, widespread media coverage and internet access into their lives, training sessions and behind the scenes, we are witnessing history in the making.

I remember a FourFourTwo cover about a decade ago when Ronaldinho was causing stirs at Barcelona and they asked him how he felt about being the best player in the world. His response was that he's not even the best player at Barcelona. At that point in time Messi was about 17 years old and had barely made an appearance for the first team.

1947374_949857985054418_351159156_n.jpg
 
Seems crazy that we don't have a thread dedicated to the greatest player, to ever grace the game (IMHO).

This thread isn't intended to spark a Ronaldo/Messi debate, more to celebrate the fact that we are able to witness a living legend at the height of his powers.

I for one, am immensely grateful that in this era of HD games, widespread media coverage and internet access into their lives, training sessions and behind the scenes, we are witnessing history in the making.

I remember a FourFourTwo cover about a decade ago when Ronaldinho was causing stirs at Barcelona and they asked him how he felt about being the best player in the world. His response was that he's not even the best player at Barcelona. At that point in time Messi was about 17 years old and had barely made an appearance for the first team.

1947374_949857985054418_351159156_n.jpg
I have that magazine.
 
It's crazy to think when I see a round up of the games each weekend and you see that Messi scored a couple or hat trick etc. that I don't even pay much attention anymore. It's unbelievable the amount of goals he has scored (Even for being at Barca).
It makes me wish I had watched him a lot more..

I wonder if the Premier League will ever have another player that scores at anything close to the rate that him and Ronaldo have been?
 
Bit judgmental, but for some time I've reacted in a "you obviously know nothing about football" manner to people claiming that Ronaldo is better than Messi. Or even that Ronaldo is as good as Messi.

Best in the world since Maradona seems undisputed to me. Comparisons with Pele are difficult, particularly for me as I've never seen Pele. But I think Messi is the best ever :)
 
Bit judgmental, but for some time I've reacted in a "you obviously know nothing about football" manner to people claiming that Ronaldo is better than Messi. Or even that Ronaldo is as good as Messi.

Best in the world since Maradona seems undisputed to me. Comparisons with Pele are difficult, particularly for me as I've never seen Pele. But I think Messi is the best ever :)

there was a time when they equally impacted their team
 
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