World Cup: the admiration of the stars devoted to Lionel Messi
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Qatar 2022Ronaldo, Pique, Zlatan: what they think of Lionel Messi
The seven-time Ballon d’Or has a chance on Sunday to make history a little further by lifting the most prestigious trophy. Here’s what football icons have said about Pulga over the years.
Before the final against France, Lionel Messi has 5 goals in this 2022 World Cup.
Image by IMAGO/Sports Press
‘The best of all time’, ‘a genius’, ‘a foreigner’: Lionel Messi, captain of Argentina who plays in the 2022 World Cup final against France on Sunday, has drawn praise from football’s biggest stars and other celebrities.
Pep Guardiola
Messi’s former coach at Barça (2008-2012) praised his protégé in an interview with the South American channel Telemundo Deportes on April 12: “What did Leo represent in my career? Everything. Really everything. I felt what I should that Phil Jackson felt with Michael Jordan, because I have Leo Messi. There are very few people who dominate their sport that easily. Without him, we would win too. But as many? Impossible.”
“I feel sorry for those who try to take his throne, but we are ahead of the best player, in every way. He can do anything, every day,” he also said in 2012.
Diego Maradona
A fresco representing two Argentine legends: Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona, in Buenos Aires.
AFP
For Argentina legend and former coach, who died in 2020, Lionel Messi had his own way of playing. “Messi, sometimes he plays for Messi. He forgets his colleagues. It became Deportivo Messi”, he said in 2010, seeing him as his worthy successor: “Now I know which player will take my place in football, and his name is Lionel Messi. He has something different from other players. He is a leader who leads by example.”
In the same year he also compared Messi to the Messiah: “Right now he is the best in the world, he is on another level. He plays soccer with Jesus.” A year earlier, he joked about the footballer’s extreme popularity: “It’s easier to talk to Obama than Messi.”
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo, then Juventus player and his lifelong rival, Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona player, in December 2020.
AFP
Cristiano Ronaldo does not mince his words when he talks about his great rival. In an interview with British television host Piers Morgan broadcast on November 17, the Portuguese star simply described him as an “incredible, magical and top player”: “We shared the stage for sixteen years . Imagine, sixteen years! So, of course, I have a good relationship with him. He’s a guy I really respect. He’s a great guy who does great things for football.”
Ahead of the World Cup, French brand Louis Vuitton pulled off one of its biggest publicity stunts by combining two footballers in the same shot. Buzz assured!
Gerard Pique
Gerard Piqué, in November 2022, in his last match as a professional footballer.
AFP
Messi’s former teammate at FC Barcelona (2008-2021), spoke about an alien in March 2018 in an interview with The Player’s Tribune: “He’s not from this planet. He’s the only player for whom, when I first saw him saw him play at the age of 13, I told myself that this boy is not human. He is a killer. This is the best I have ever seen in my life. His greatness lies in his obsession to win the ball. It may not it’s seen on TV, but on the field you have to see his face when he runs to take it from a defender. Messi’s magic is not something you can find on YouTube. The expression in his eyes is sensitive. To explain the its greatness, I need 5,000 words.”
Other football stars are raving about the Flea. Anthology in pictures and over the years.
Messi’s former teammate Samuel Eto’o said of him in 2010: “There is only one God in football, that is Messi.”
AFP/file 2016
Neymar in September 2022: “Messi is an amazing player, a genius. And off the pitch, he’s the same. It’s an honor for me to play next to him.”
AFP/archive October 2022
The Brazilian Ronaldo, in 2012: “Messi is smart. He’s a great player, but he won’t be a legend until he shows his true colors in Argentina and wins the World Cup.”
AFP/file 2004
And other personalities …
Rafael Nadal, in 2011: “Messi is the best player I have ever seen in history.”
AFP/December 2022
Kobe Bryant, who died in 2020, said of Messi in 2016: “Ronaldinho…I was talking to him and I was like, ‘Kobe, listen, I’m going to introduce you to the guy who’s going to be the best player. of all time.’ I said: “But you are the best!” He told me: “No, no. This kid here will be the best.” That boy is Lionel Messi, who is only 17 years old.”
Getty Images via AFP/archive 2018
Barack Obama, in 2016: “My daughters know Pope Francis, and now they want to meet Messi. But I haven’t fixed it yet.”
Getty Images via AFP/archive 2021
(AFP)
