lionel messi

the goat in soccer. feel lucky to watch him live at his prime at camp nou with my best friends in 2017 against sevilla. camp nou

edit: he made a u-turn and decided to stay at barça.

it looks like he ended an era. he is about to transfer to manchester city. so, he could move to partner club new york fc in the future.

things are getting messi...

he has just become a free agent!

one of the most interesting statistics in soccer history is the number of goals lionel messi scored in a single calendar year over the course of his career.

in 2012, messi scored a total of 91 goals across his club and national team appearances. that number broke the record of 85 set earlier by gerd müller in 1972, and it's still regarded as one of the most impressive individual performances in soccer history.

the interesting part is that the year messi broke this record wasn't a world cup year or a copa america year, meaning this extraordinary number happened entirely within the rhythm of a normal season. while many forwards never reach 91 goals over their entire careers, messi pulled it off in a single year.

messi doesn't need to prove anything anymore at this point in his career.

unlike ronaldo, who became hugely popular through his hairstyle, facial expressions, flashy lifestyle, and iconic goal celebrations, messi just scores when he can, creates assists when he can't, plays his game, and moves on.

even as a ronaldo fan, it's pretty easy to see that the scales have started to tip in messi's favor.

he's the kind of player that, simply because he exists, i find myself checking the schedule to see when argentina is playing. the one match i never want to miss is argentina's, just so i can watch messi play again.

he's unquestionably the greatest athlete of all time. the guy even has an olympic gold medal.

zlatan ibrahimovic, on lionel messi's impact following argentina's win over austria:

"i'm obsessed with watching messi. and it's not because he's my friend. it's not nostalgia either. it's because after all these years i'm still trying to understand how a footballer can control a match without touching the ball every single minute.

i watched argentina today, and the first thing that caught my attention wasn't the score. it was austria's reaction whenever messi moved. on a single step he took to the left, the defenders follow him. when he drops back a little toward midfield, the team's entire formation changes. a single glance he throws over his shoulder... and the panic begins.

this isn't football. this is psychological warfare. and this is exactly why i laugh when people evaluate him with just goals and assists. because they don't truly understand what they're watching.

messi isn't just argentina's best player. he is argentina's system. he is their confidence. he is their belief. he's the reason his teammates believe the impossible is possible when they walk onto the pitch.

people keep asking me about the 'goat' debate. what debate? seriously. what debate? for me there's no debate to be had. this debate exists because television needs content and social media needs fights. when i watch football i don't see a debate. i see messi. and then everyone else.

this doesn't mean the other legends aren't extraordinary. it's just that i've never seen any player affect a match, a team, and an entire generation of football the way messi has. and today he reminded everyone of it once again.

he didn't need to score a hat-trick. he didn't need to score from 40 meters either. just being lionel messi was enough. and all of a sudden argentina started to look like a completely different team.

this right here is greatness. it isn't everything depending on you. it's everyone becoming better when you're out there.

in my career i played against great players. i played on the same team as great players. but messi is the only player i've watched and truly thought to myself: 'this isn't normal.'

and the most frightening part is this: opponents know very well what he's going to do. and yet they still can't stop him.

that's why i don't waste time with comparisons anymore. some players become legends. some become icons. messi, on the other hand, has turned into a category of his own.

and if, after today's performance, you're still asking me who the greatest footballer of all time is... you're asking the wrong question. the right question is this: will football ever be able to produce another player like him?"

the first player in world cup history to score in 7 consecutive matches. the goat.

normally he was expected to play in this match and pad his stats against jordan, but he chose to rest. after all, the man has nothing left to prove. if it were mbappe or cristiano ronaldo, there'd be a particular wish to play them in this match.