Lionel Messi’s indifferent two-year stint at Paris Saint-Germain is set for an acrimonious end as he joins long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, just months after their resounding victory at the 2022 World Cup.
For millions of his fans, the debate about Messi’s right to be considered the greatest footballer in history was officially over when he led Argentina to the title in Qatar in December.
But his career at the highest level in Europe appears to have ended on a low note.
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Messi was suspended by PSG last week for making an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia.
He has scored 31 goals in 71 appearances for the French champions and looks set to win their second consecutive Ligue 1 title later this month, but failed in his mission to help PSG win the Champions League for the first time, last-to- -back suffer 16 defeats.
Barcelona were hopeful of bringing the 35-year-old back to Camp Nou, where he won 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns, before a tearful departure in 2021.
Instead, however, Saudi Arabia, which regularly faces accusations of sportswashing, or playing host to the biggest names in sport to deflect attention from its human rights record, is hosting arguably two of the greatest players of the modern era in its unregulated domestic league. would be able to include.
Ronaldo is playing for Al Nassr, while a source close to the talks told AFP Messi’s move to Saudi Arabia was a “done deal”, stopping short of saying which club the Argentine would join.
– World Cup mission accomplished –
The absence of a World Cup winners’ medal has long been Exhibit A in the argument why Messi is not above Pele and Diego Maradona in the pantheon of football.
But with Argentina’s victory over France in last year’s World Cup final in Doha, the matter was definitively closed.
In an illustrious career spanning three decades, Messi has won 37 club trophies, seven Ballon d’Or awards and six European Golden Boots.
A Copa America title, an Olympic gold medal and a list of scoring and statistical records that may never be broken.
In his final World Cup appearance, Messi scored twice in a 3–3 draw in extra time before Argentina won on penalties.
Even Kylian Mbappé’s hat-trick for France could not disturb Messi’s appointment that night with destiny seemingly already sealed.
Is Messi really the ‘greatest’ is a question that, of course, is as pointless as the answer is subjective.
– Ranking Greatness –
What is undeniable though is that by sheer volume and range of silverware, Messi has won more than the other serious rivals to his “goat” status: Pele and Maradona.
While Pele’s three World Cup wins are unrivalled, the Brazilian icon’s club career pales in comparison to Messi’s.
In his peak years with Barcelona, the Argentine regularly scaled the pinnacle of European club football in the Champions League – arguably a technically superior arena compared to international football.
Maradona meanwhile won only one World Cup, and never lifted the European Cup during a club career in Europe mostly remembered for spells with Barcelona and Napoli.
The counter-argument of course is that Pele and Maradona played in an era where players were offered far less protection than the likes of Messi and Ronaldo.
Pele was ruled out of the 1966 World Cup after committing more than one brutal tackle; Maradona also faced harsh treatment throughout his career.
Maradona’s former international team-mate Jorge Buruchaga is reluctant to compare players from different generations.
Burruchaga, the scorer of the winning goal – set up by Maradona – in the 1986 World Cup final victory over West Germany, has directly stated that Messi is the greatest player of his era.
“Win or lose, Messi is no more or no less than Maradona,” Buruchaga told AFP during the World Cup.
“There are five players in the last 70 years who can be considered the best in the world – (Alfredo) Di Stefano, Johan Cruyff, Pele, Maradona and Messi.”
The last name on that list is potentially leaving the European elite for good, but Messi has not yet finished an international career that has already seen him score 102 goals in 174 matches.
Next year’s Copa America in the United States may yet provide a fitting swansong.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)