It may be true, but he doesn't look nearly as bitter and twatish as Pele whenever someone raises the possibility of another "best player ever".
Lionel Messi
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It may be true, but he doesn't look nearly as bitter and twatish as Pele whenever someone raises the possibility of another "best player ever".
Two years from now, all of those records will be his. In fact, the only records that won't be his a year from now will be the goals for Argentina and Champions league most likely. 2 years though and he'll probably get those as well. Ridiculous the amount of goals he scores. To think that if you took half of the amount of goals and assists he gets, he would still probably be considered as the best, or up there with the very best in the world. We think Van Persie is brilliant and consistent with his goalscoring, and he is. But Messi scored twice as many goals as RVP did last season. Just shows how good Messi really is.
Have added a record to the Barcelona statistics all in bold.
Glad that he got the record in the end. Messi has been a machine in front of goals
With all he's accomplished since the start of the season, it's impossible for him not to break the record in terms of Ballon d'Or either.
The most accomplished season/year ever from an individual point of view
The most accomplished season/year ever from an individual point of view
Well done Messi.
Every time I hear him talking about Messi he seems to have nothing but praise and admiration for the little guy.
Pele is the only one always making an idiot out of himself when talking shit about Messi.
In my, admittedly short, time watching football I've never seen a player like this. He's reduced the most difficult part of the game to something of simplicity. The records keep falling and he's still only 25.
Just imagine what his career might look like when he finishes.
Just imagine what his career might look like when he finishes.
Incredible achievement! It's not even as though he is a greedy bastard, how many more could he have scored had he not been prepared to pass to a teammate in a better position?
I would be interested to see how many assists he has amassed during not only this season, but in his whole career.
Has there ever been a more consistently prolific goalscorer and provider? If there has, then i am unaware of him.
Just to throw my hat in the ring regarding the WC. He may no longer have to win it to be considered the best ever imo. But for me he has to do at least what Cryuff did and dominate a WC without winning it. Although obviously winning it would undoubtedly put him at the top of the tree in most people's view, i would suggest. A true phenomenon!
I would be interested to see how many assists he has amassed during not only this season, but in his whole career.
Has there ever been a more consistently prolific goalscorer and provider? If there has, then i am unaware of him.
Just to throw my hat in the ring regarding the WC. He may no longer have to win it to be considered the best ever imo. But for me he has to do at least what Cryuff did and dominate a WC without winning it. Although obviously winning it would undoubtedly put him at the top of the tree in most people's view, i would suggest. A true phenomenon!
Pelé would be up there I'm sure.
Incredible achievement! It's not even as though he is a greedy bastard, how many more could he have scored had he not been prepared to pass to a teammate in a better position?
I would be interested to see how many assists he has amassed during not only this season, but in his whole career. [1]
Has there ever been a more consistently prolific goalscorer and provider? If there has, then i am unaware of him.
Just to throw my hat in the ring regarding the WC. He may no longer have to win it to be considered the best ever imo. But for me he has to do at least what Cryuff did and dominate a WC [2] without winning it. Although obviously winning it would undoubtedly put him at the top of the tree in most people's view, i would suggest. A true phenomenon!
[1] according to the stats I've kept on my own (verified by as much possible official sources as I could find; ie. LFP & RFEF for domestic competitions, UEFA & FIFA for international competitions) he has 109 career assists for Barcelona and 21 for Argentina.
apps(starts)-goals-assists
FC BARCELONA
2004/05: 9(2)-1-0
2005/06: 25(17)-8-3
2006/07: 36(31)-17-3
2007/08: 40(34)-16-13
2008/09: 51(41)-38-18
2009/10: 53(46)-47-11
2010/11: 55(48)-53-24
2011/12: 60(57)-73-29
2012/13: 23(21)-30-8
TOTAL: 352(297)-283-109 | 0.80 gpg & 0.31 apg
ARGENTINA
2005/06: 10(4)-2-2
2006/07: 10(9)-4-2
2007/08: 10(10)-3-3
2008/09: 9(9)-3-2
2009/10: 11(11)-1-1
2010/11: 11(11)-4-6
2011/12: 9(9)-9-5
2012/13: 6(6)-5-0
TOTAL: 76(69)-31-21 | 0.41 gpg & 0.28 apg
[2] I agree he should have at least one outstanding WC (and probably reach the semi-final at least), where he is declared best player or top 3 anyway
Congrats messi. To me, already the best player ever. But I must question the quality of defending in the Spanish league. Look at the first goal against Betis. No one marking messi at the edge of the box, and no tackles made as he homes in on goal. Can't see that happening in the EPL or in Italy. I hope he comes to old trafford one day, just to prove he can do magic in England as well.
Aye.
Stoke, and all that...
Stoke, and all that...
Anyone knows how many games he has in total in the Champions League? Would like to know his gpg ration in that particular competition, to see how it compares with La Liga.
He's got nothing left to prove at club level, none of this EPL or Serie A nonsense.
International level, particularly the World Cup, is a different story.
International level, particularly the World Cup, is a different story.
Anyone knows how Villa has done this season since returning from injury?
Surprising that this myth still persists. Premier League games regularly serve up some hilariously shocking defending. Not even the big teams escape it. We've certainly put in some comedy performances this season. It's delusional to think the Premier League is any better.
Well, I wouldn't call this "no one marking him",
but I agree, they should have gone for this..
There's all sorts of reasons for the World Cup being particularly significant - the acute pressures of performing over a one-month period being unlike anything else in the game, the historical value (if not current quality) of the tournament surpassing all others, the relatively consistent level of quality in the tournament over the years making it easier to compare and the unique challenges of international football in general. They're all valid, but I think ultimately there's a certain romance to it that appeals to all of us. It just feels right to be able to say the greatest player to play the game stood above these 735 other mere mortals and sprinkled magic throughout one month of non-stop football, forever etching himself in the memory of men, women and children worldwide in a way only the World Cup can. Playing in a country that has dedicated itself to football and welcomed people from across the globe to take part in one month of what is ultimately a celebration of the game itself...it's the greatest stage to make a lasting impression.
Did you cream yourself writing that?
Every Messi post comes with a complimentary rub, I thought that goes without saying?
It read like a post from Boss, only more grammatically correct and intelligent.
We could all learn a lot from Boss, it's only now I'm beginning to appreciate his words of wisdom. I've got them up on the wall, framed and everything. I look in that mirror every day and think, how could I be more like this great man who has taught me so much?
Messi has scored against United, the top football club in England. At least twice, to the best of my recollection. And he scored on us when our back line was a force of nature.
I can't imagine scoring on Arsenal, Wigan or Sunderland would be that much more of a challenge for Messi.
La Liga
229 apps (195 starts) 192 goals -- 0.84 gpg
Champions League
74 apps (66 starts), 56 goals -- 0.76 gpg
to put into context:
1. Raúl: 144 apps (137 starts), 71 goals -- 0.49 gpg
2. RvN: 73 apps (70 starts), 56 goals -- 0.77 gpg
3. Messi
And of those with at least 30 goals only G. Müller, Puskás and Di Stéfano have a higher gpg rate.
The board sold ronaldo to madrid behind my back so then I sold nani and got enough money for messi, I had him and then turned off my console. I loaded it up yesterday and the game save was gone! i was back to pre-messi days. It's not meant to be.
La Liga 192 goals and 89 assists in 229 games
Champions league 56 goals and 26 assists in 74 games
He has the best goal per games ratio in Champions league history. If you include the old European cup format dating back to 1955 then he has the 5th best ratio in history, behind Di Stefano, Gerd Muller, Ferenk Puskas and Jose Altafini.
He's done okayish despite receiving relatively little game time. He's been used sparingly, but still has 5 goals in 6 starts in the league (10 apps total); add to that 3 in 2 cup games and 0 in 1 start in the CL (5 apps total) and you get a respectable 8 goals in 9 starts (17 apps total) so far this season.
He needs to get on a run of consecutive starts to really get going, but unfortunately the team is playing very well and is free-scoring without him. 50 goals in 15 games; compared to Real 'only' 37 and Atlético 35. Messi's got 23 of those 50 by the way, and 15 of the 29 away goals.
On the issue of messi and the WC, can anyone here enlighten as to Argentina's chances in 2014 assuming messi is fit and available? Seems to me Argentina has a world class attack - messi, aguero, tevez, higuain etc but not so steady defense. If they can build a team around messi, they have got to be one of the favorites.
Yeah, I heard Wenger is sick of the sight of Messi, or something like that.. Not sure why though..
The world cup rarely goes to the favorites, even if Argentina were the favorites indeed (which I don't think they are). Cup competitions are unpredictable, and luck plays a much bigger role in the outcome.
Thank you both, Skorenzy and Inspectah deck.
Didn't expect it to be so high, only RvN slightly above him in the modern era (due to Messi having an extra game) and he had a much higher proportion of starts as opposed to sub appearances.
Didn't expect it to be so high, only RvN slightly above him in the modern era (due to Messi having an extra game) and he had a much higher proportion of starts as opposed to sub appearances.
True. What are the chances of the favourites? 20%, 30%? Most of the times favourites won't win it, the combined chances of the next best two teams are probably higher than the best team, let alone when we consider the 32.
Well, I give up! Messi is the greatest player of all time, and he should win the Ballon d'Or again - even if it is boring and I'd rather see Cristiano win it. Let's just appreciate the little fecker 
Incredible achivement.
Incredible achivement.
it seems that with Wenger you cant score against his team four goals in one game without being called "little cnut"
Agreed on the uniqueness of world cup and the explanation as to why Maradona is deified to such an extent that even if Messi wins the world cup, he's still potentially not going to be as loved as Diego.
That said, I do think due to the fact Argentina haven't won it for close to a quarter of a century.. and in light of his record breaking, he'd be worshipped and earn the respect and love he deserves. I'm supporting Argentina next world cup.. would be a great shame if he goes the way of Puskas and Cryuff, BPITW and no world cup to show for it.
------------Romero----------
Zabaleta-Garay-Fernandez-Rojo
----------Mascherano-------
-------Gago-----------------
------------------------Di Maria
-----------Messi------------v
----------------------------v
Higuain-------Aguero--------v
This is how they play at the moment, barring any miraculous improvement in defense (which I doubt) this will be their likely starting 11 in Brazil. Clearly, their defenders aren't world beaters by any means. Garay is a bit more accomplished than Fernandez (who is a decent squad player at best for Napoli). They have decent full backs in Zabaleta and Rojo but Romero is a very average goal keeper IMO.
With Di Maria drifting between attacking midfield and LW while Messi plays as a classic no 10, and Higuan + Aguero ahead of them, all they need is a functional midfield and defense because the ability they have in their front four is scary, and they are starting to show it on the pitch. They are walking the South American qualifiers, which is the toughest world cup qualifying campaign in the world IMO.
With what they have, they should be aiming for the Semi's. At that point I think there is one definitely better team (Spain) who they'll probably need Messi in the form of his life to beat. A match up against the other big boys (Germany, Brazil, Italy) can go either way. So if they can avoid Spain till the Semi's I wouldn't put it past them to make the final, and as we all know, anything can happen in the final.
EDIT: They'll probably replace Gago with Banega at some point, which on paper should Improve their Midfield noticeably
With Di Maria drifting between attacking midfield and LW while Messi plays as a classic no 10, and Higuan + Aguero ahead of them, all they need is a functional midfield and defense because the ability they have in their front four is scary, and they are starting to show it on the pitch. They are walking the South American qualifiers, which is the toughest world cup qualifying campaign in the world IMO.
With what they have, they should be aiming for the Semi's. At that point I think there is one definitely better team (Spain) who they'll probably need Messi in the form of his life to beat. A match up against the other big boys (Germany, Brazil, Italy) can go either way. So if they can avoid Spain till the Semi's I wouldn't put it past them to make the final, and as we all know, anything can happen in the final.
EDIT: They'll probably replace Gago with Banega at some point, which on paper should Improve their Midfield noticeably
Here are his up-to-date statistics for all games played since his first ever, ever game for on the 05/09/2003:
http://kahkonen.arkku.net/messi/?matches/index/Every
557 Matches played, 379W, 110D, 68L.
He has played a total of 41,954 minutes altogether. He has scored 414 goals and provided 195 assists in total.
A goal every 101 minutes or so, and an assist every 215 minutes with a combined goal/assist every 69 minutes.
http://kahkonen.arkku.net/messi/?matches/index/Every
557 Matches played, 379W, 110D, 68L.
He has played a total of 41,954 minutes altogether. He has scored 414 goals and provided 195 assists in total.
A goal every 101 minutes or so, and an assist every 215 minutes with a combined goal/assist every 69 minutes.
For me whether he wins a WC or not doesn't matter anymore.I can't say he is the best ever because I see things from a logical POV and it's impossible to compare footballers from different eras due to a million parameters.
Messi is by some distance the best player I have ever watched and one of the best ever to have played the game.
Messi is by some distance the best player I have ever watched and one of the best ever to have played the game.
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