Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for French club, Paris Saint-Germain. Let’s now have a look at some of the famous rivalries of the Argentine genius.
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Regarded as possibly the greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for French club, Paris Saint-Germain. The Little Magician from Argentina, as he is famously known has blessed the footballing world with his extraordinary talent and skills over the years. The name Messi has been synonymous with Barcelona where the 7-time Ballon D’Or winner spent 18 years of his glorious career. Barcelona signed Messi as a youngster and then witnessed his rise from a youth sensation to the best player in the world. He scored 672 goals while also providing 302 assists for the Catalan club in 777 appearances for them. Messi was the star point of the most successful era in Barcelona’s history wherein they won a historic two trebles. In 2021 after his Barcelona contract expired, Messi joined PSG on a free transfer.
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Messi has won 39 major honours in his illustrious career just three behind the most decorated player of all time, Dani Alves. Among these 39 trophies, there are four Champions League titles and a record 10 La Liga wins. He also has an international trophy, the 2021 Copa America. Messi has won seven Ballon D’Or awards and six European Golden Boots, a feat that remains unmatched. The record for the most goals for a single player is also held by him. Considered a complete player, Messi is equally efficient as a playmaker as he is as a forward. His low centre of gravity allows him to dribble smoothly and create goalscoring opportunities. The Argentine also enjoys splendid set-piece abilities. Let’s now have a look at some of the famous rivalries of the Argentine genius.
The rivalry which has defined world football over the years, the rivalry which has divided world football into two, the rivalry which has shaped the future of football. The God of Argentina vs The Machine of Portugal. The little magician against the inevitable man. These are some of the headlines that have caught the eyes whenever Lionel Messi has faced Cristiano Ronaldo. Probably the peak of any rivalry in any sport, both the superstars have pushed each other to levels that haven’t been achieved by anyone in footballing history. Face of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in their prime, Ronaldo and Messi have never failed to spark the moment of brilliance that made the El Clasico the most anticipated fixture for majority of the last decade.
While Messi has more Ballon D’Ors, no-one has more Champion League trophies than Cristiano Ronaldo. One has the most goals in the history of the sport, while one is top assister of all time. Both have achieved success on the international stage. While Messi enjoys a superior record in domestic football, Ronaldo is way ahead of his long-time rival when it comes to the Champions League. Both the superstars are now nearing their retirement but they have set the standards very high for the upcoming prodigies. No wonder their rivalry is considered amongst the greatest in sports history.
While its rather uncommon to find a case of an attacker and defender rivalry, Ramos and Messi possess a different case. Both the superstars have arguably been the best players in their respective positions for quite some time. Their rivalry is further ignited by the fact that both were the face of rivals, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona for almost whole of the last decade. Ramos has been sent-off twice for serious fouls on Messi in El Clasicos which has made their rivalry fiercer. Both players have played their parts in some amazing El Clasico battles over the years. However, both players have always admitted and maintained mutual respect for each other and their career paths have now guided them to the same team Paris Saint Germain, quite possibly for the rest of their careers.
Arguably the best goalkeeper of his generation against the best forward of his generation. Manuel Neuer against Lionel Messi has always promised to be an exciting matchup. While Messi has given the best of footballers headaches and tensions, Neuer certainly is an exception. Manuel Neuer has been one of the most consistent German footballers over the last decade and has earned his place amongst the best goalkeepers of all time. Whenever he has come against Messi it has been an occasion to savour.
The year was 2015 and the stage was the Champions League semifinal between Bayern Munich and Barcelona. In the pre-match interview, Neuer made a confident yet bold statement. The German proclaimed that he will show Messi who is the boss and will smash his authority on the Argentine just like he did in the 2014 World Cup final which went pretty well for Manuel Neuer and Germany. However, this time, the plan didn’t work out so well as Lionel Messi produced a performance for the ages and scored two sensational goals past Neuer with his second goal being a lob over the German that cemented itself in the history books as one of the greatest Champions League goals of all time. Manuel Neuer must certainly have regretted saying those words.
Amongst the rivalries of Messi, his most recent one is that with Robert Lewandowski. Ever since 2020, the Polish forward has been at the top of his game and is surely amongst the best players in the world. In 2020 following his only Champions League win in his career with Bayern Munich, many believed that Lewandowski should be recipient of that year’s Ballon D’Or and rightly so. However, the award was cancelled that year but Lewandowski came even stronger the following year but fell short in the Champions League. This was followed by Messi winning the 2021 Copa America and having a big role in the triumph which led to him winning the 2021 Ballon D’Or which sparked lots of debates. Lewandowski however did win the that year’s FIFA’s Best Player Award.
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Another one in the list of recent rivalries of Lionel Messi is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. Ever since coming to Anfield in 2017, Salah has produced extraordinary statistics. Hardly anyone has come close to his numbers and consistency in recent years. He is even nicknamed, the ‘Egyptian Messi’ due to the fact that he and Messi share similar playing characteristics. Messi however still sits ahead of his Liverpool counterpart with extraordinary displays and performances in the recent years. When Liverpool faced Barcelona in 2019 Champions League semis, much of the focus was on the matchup between these two. While Salah couldn’t really make an impact, Messi scored two brilliant goals although that weren’t enough for Barcelona to qualify.
