In 2016, during a golf event, Sir Alex Ferguson did not hesitate to praise Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi. “Messi is a fantastic player. It’s like he’s wearing sneakers when he controls a ball. But the difference is that he is a Barça player. Ronaldo could play for Stockport County and score a hat-trick. He has it all. He can shoot with both feet and head the ball. He is as brave as a lion, it is something that everyone admires, ”explained the Scottish coach about the great difference between the two cracks.
It is totally justifiable to choose any one over the other, we are talking about perhaps the two best players in history, but what surprised everyone then was the strong message that the former United manager gave. At that time, the Argentine player was in one of his best moments as a professional, so saying that so firmly was something unthinkable.
LIONEL MESSI OUT OF BARCELONA
Today, with the 21/22 season already over, it is possible to assess the footballer’s performance outside the Blaugrana club. The Argentine star scored just 11 goals and 14 assists in all competitions at club level. With his arrival in Paris, it was expected that he would maintain his performance and his spectacular goalscoring figure, or even improve it, since he would join a team in which he would be surrounded by players with greater quality and experience than FC Barcelona, and, in theory, , landed in a league of lower level than the Spanish.
It is important to remember that Messi suffered off-field problems that prevented him from having a rhythm of play, such as contracting covid-19 and the flu or the three injuries (knee, pelvis, ankle) he suffered. But it is no less evident that the Argentine did not have the level that was expected and did not take the leading role in important moments of the season.
In the end… Was Sir Alex Ferguson right about Messi? Is he a player that only works at Barça or have the conditions simply not been favorable to him? @worldwide
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