Did anyone see the Messi show yesterday ? For all that was written I still dont think they did Messi's performance justice. I am now in a doubt as to the best player I have ever seen play football.
Yesterday the spanish commentators were calling for Leo Maradona ! ...and all this from a man on painkillers for a tootache !!
For me Maradona could do anything with a ball and against any opponent So I had him as the best I had seen ..now Messi is forcing me to think again ....for all the previous discussion I have read on this thread folks are bringing the argument down to who scores the most goals 
Also the impact of Messi on the game of football goes far beyond the argument about which is beter EPL or La Liga.
A world cup without Messi would certainly be tarnished just as in the era of Pele and Maradona. These players have to be there for you to claim that football is the greatest game on earth. The skill and daring of Leo Messi is what draws fans to the game...this is no safe player ...this is a cunning, skillful destroyer whose reputation makes you wary but who you are powerless to stop.
Many decry his size saying that he would not stand up to tough defenders but the Sttutgart defender who boasted that they were not afraid of Messi must have wondered what hit them !
Imagine you study this player , his every move, his every step , his positioning , yet you cant seem to be able to stop him
Messi is the michael Jordan of football if you are a basketball fan and the USAIN BOLT , if athletics is your beef.
His performance yesterday showed how much superior he is even to his own Barcelona team mates who are themselves world beaters. There is no doubt in the coach's mind or even in the mind of the Barcelona who rules the roost. The look of disbelief in the face of Keita and others after Mess's second goal yesterday told the tale ...how does he do that
Messi could have scored 7 yesterday but being a team player he tried desperately to get Ibra on the scoresheet...he pased off to Ibra when it was much easier to score on many ocassions. It was as if he did not need to score ...He could do that anytime ...goals are the battle the bigger picture is the war . That is the reason I find that discussing who scores more goals between Messi and anybody is just to major in minors.
The penalty that Messi allowed Ibra to take showed how much of a team player he is ....Christiano would not have given that up so easily and with Messi's talent and his mind set would have scored 50 goals already.
Messi smiled as Ibra moved to take the kick calmly stepping aside when he had done everything to get that goal.
I would have done the same thing as the Zaragoza defender ...for if he had not fouled Messi then and there I am afraid the game of football would have had to undergo a serious revision to ensure that no player ever makes it look that easy again.
It was as if all Messi had to say was ...gimme dat ball ...and just watch dis ! As a spectator in front of my TV I could not sit down. I felt like I was seeing something special. After so many years of watching football surely nothing could surprise anymore ...but the neighbours must have been wondering if I was going mad...
Sorry for ranting folks but I dont believe Messi and anyone is in the same class right now ....he does not have to prove himself as the world's best he has already been aclaimed as such ...from youth level to seniors ..he has demonstrated his class ..he is now at the level of making others great ....
Leo messi was born to play football ...he could not adapt to the game in such a manner if he wasn't. He is akin to mohammed Ali , Tiger woods and Michael jordan. To all those who challenge thesse players I say one thing ...Just tell them it cannot be done ! ..as Mesi's header in the champions league final or that Lara could not break the World record twice !
Jai John, yuh preach dey..............Farrakhan and all woulda cry speechless!!
I can appreciate that different people like different things about different players and that is why I have to let those that love the razzle-dazzle, shiny-penny football that cronaldo does play, love that. Everything you describe about Messi, is why I think there is, and won't be for quite some time, no one better. And this is not just about someone "being on top" for a moment, however, long or short. This is about recognizing those once-in-a-lifetime/generation types of players that transcends some annual, subjective award. Even when cronaldo was given the title of "world's best player" it was more a reflection of his form than his class and the title wasn't as "indisputable" as some may like to say it was. For all that rooney is doing and all the goals he's scoring and all that cronaldo does: the
same step over move, over and over again, the diving, the strong man pose to take a free kick (give me a f**king break!) and all the talent he has: you will NEVER see either of them doing what Messi does, on a regular:
Over and over again he blows past 2-3 players in a single run.
Nobody else does that today.
or scoring the kinds of goals that Messi scores(.....on a regular:)
Some may say that rooney has carried manu on his back this season, and to some extent, by living up to his promise of filling cronaldo's goal-scoring void, he has. But rooney can't do most of what he does without lots of good service from his teammates. One of the great things that separates Messi from rooney is that Messi doesn't need service. He can create his own chances. (from as far back as his own half!)
