INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT LEONEL MESSI

Lionel Messi’s historic coronation as the world’s best footballer for a third straight year prompted plenty of speculation at the FIFA Ballon d’Or gala as to whether the Argentinian star can already be considered the best player of all time.

While Messi himself has repeatedly shied away from talk comparing him to the greats of previous years, stating once again in Zurich that his plan was to “just try to enjoy every moment, enjoy some great experiences and win titles,” there was no shortage of football talents past and present in attendance at the gala expressing views on the subject.

“Messi is currently the world’s best player, and he may well be the best player of all time,” said former world champion and two-time Ballon d’Or winner Franz Beckenbauer. “But we’ll only fi nd out in time. In the coming years, we’ll see if he really is the number one.” Raymond Kopa, the former French international who won three consecutive European Cups with Real Madrid and was awarded the Ballon d’Or in 1958, was meanwhile among those who pointed out that most of Messi’s major achievements to date have been in club football. “We shouldn’t forget that when he plays for Argentina, he doesn’t get his way as much,” Kopa said. “He’s surrounded by great players when he plays for his club. It was similar with me. I won the Ballon d’Or because I had some brilliant team-mates around me. You never reach number one all by yourself.”

Other gala attendants were somewhat sceptical about the validity of even comparing players of different generations. “Messi is the whole package, a born fi nisher with a real killer instinct, even if he seems very nice off the pitch,” said UEFA President Michel Platini, the only other player in the men’s game to have won the Ballon d’Or in three successive years. “But you shouldn’t try to place him in time. He’s the great player of this generation, just like there were great players in other generations. “It’s only in football that people compare generations. I’ve never heard someone compare [Italian pop singer] Adriano Celentano, The Beatles or Edith Piaf, but in football it happens.” Echoing Kopa, Platini said he also felt that Messi could do with a FIFA World Cup win with Argentina to assure him of a place alongside the likes of Pelé or Maradona “Messi will always be great with or without the World Cup … but the World Cup does something special,” the Frenchman insisted. “Look at Diego Maradona, everyone remembers what he did in 1986, nobody remembers so much what he did with Napoli, with Barcelona. It’s the World Cup which sticks in people’s minds.”

While Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson agreed with Platini’s general point about the difficulty of comparing across the generations, he insisted that Messi had certainly earned his place among the all-time greats. “There is this generational thing of course, and a lot of critics over the years have addressed this question and asked whether a player like Pelé would be able to play at today’s level,” Ferguson pointed out. “But my answer to that is that great players can play in any generation. They would all be able to play at any level simply because they are great players – and Lionel Messi without any question comes into that category.” Sitting beside Ferguson at the time, Messi’s coach Pep Guardiola said he was happy to bow to the Scottish manager’s greater experience. “It’s a good question for Sir Alex because he was lucky enough to see the likes of Pelé and Di Stéfano play,” Guardiola grinned. “But I think we’ll agree with Sir Alex and say that Leo can sit with that group of players. Those are huge words and it’s now up to him and what he does in future to see if he can stay there.”