In response to Jacob Chosner’s article, Messi is in fact the GOAT of soccer.
Messi’s recent world cup victory, where he scored 2 goals and made his penalty kick, adds another trophy to his marvelous soccer career. As well as a world cup trophy for his country, Messi has also won the Fifa World Youth Championship in 2005, the Summer Olympics in 2008, the Copa America in 2021, and the CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions in 2022. Messi currently holds the record for the most number of La Liga titles with 10 with his former club, Barcelona. He has won the La Liga title in 2004-05, 2005-06, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18, and the 2018-19 season. He has also won seven Copa del Rey titles between 2008 and 2021, eight Supercopa de Espana titles between 2005 and 2018, four UEFA Champions League titles between 2005 and 2018, three UEFA Super Cup titles between 2009 and 2015, and three FIFA Club World Cup titles between 2009 and 2015. Messi has won the Ligue 1 title in the 2021-2022 season and the Trophee des Champions in 2022 for his current club, PSG or Paris Saint-Germain.
His individual trophies are even more impressive. Messi has the record number of Ballon d’Or trophies with seven. He is on track to win his eighth this year. He won the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2009, The Best FIFA Men’s Player in 2019, the European Golden Shoe six times, the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball in 2014 and 2022, the FIFA World Cup Silver Boot in 2022, the FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball in 2008 and 2011, the FIFA U-20 World Cup Golden Ball and Golden Boot in 2005, Copa America’s best player in 2015 and 2021, Copa America’s Top Goalscorer in 2021, La Liga’s best player six times, the Pichichi Trophy eight times, the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2020, and Argentine Footballer of the Year in fourteen times.
Messi has played a total of 1005 games with 794 goals and 350 assists so far in his career. Messi has a better minute per goal ratio and a fewer minutes per goal contribution than Ronaldo. Messi also has two more Ballon d’Or trophies than Ronaldo, and most importantly a World Cup win which Ronaldo has never come close to having. Ronaldo’s poor attitude is perfectly exemplified in his gameplay. Whenever he loses a tackle, he can be seen flailing on the ground, or better known as “flopping.” If he got up right away, the momentum of the game would not be lost. This could create a goal or a good chance if this poor attitude did not occur. When Ronaldo gets benched, like in the most recent World Cup, everyone can see his visual distress and poor attitude on the bench. He is disappointed at the consequences of his own actions. It is his fault that he is benched due to the reasons that were listed. However, Messi gives it his all every game and never flops. He keeps going and tries to create a chance for his team. Not once has he gone in for a tackle and not gotten up right away to get it back. Cristiano Ronaldo is also in one of the worst professional soccer leagues in the world. He just transferred to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. Who has ever heard of this irrelevant league? Messi is in Ligue 1 which is one of the top five leagues in the world. Messi continues to stay at the top of his career while Ronaldo is in a horrible league with unknown players and teams.
One of Messi’s previous coaches, Pep Guardiola, describes him as: “the best [ever], there is no other like him. The numbers speak for themselves. One day he’ll score six. We’ll never see a player like him again. It’s a gift and I will always be able to say that I coached him. The only credit I can take is that I always put him in the team and we just try to make sure he gets the ball. After that our task is done. The throne belongs to him and only he will decide when he wants to relinquish it.”
Lionel Scaloni, Messi’s current coach on his Argentine team, says: “Messi is the greatest player of all time. I don’t have any doubt saying that he is the best in history. I have the privilege. I am honored to train him and see him play. It’s something exciting because every time you see him play, it’s a huge source of motivation for his teammates, the people, the whole world.” These two quotes single-handedly prove that Messi is the GOAT. Guardiola and Scaloni have both played professional soccer, proving that they know the ins and outs of this sport. Due to this, it is a big deal for them to say that Lionel Messi is the best player ever. His stats and his positive attitude should prove to the whole world that he is indeed the best player to exist.
Messi is also proven as the best of all time off of the pitch. He has the third most Instagram followers at 422 million. Messi also has five of the top ten liked Instagram posts of all time. He holds the record at 74.9 million likes on his post after winning the world cup. All of these factors prove that Messi is by far the GOAT of soccer.
