This is Why MESSI is a REAL GOAT 🐐

To be considered a GOAT, Lionel Messi should win the World Cup trophy once and for all. On December 13th, 2022, La Pulga was one step away from the status, as Argentina left no chances for Croatia, reaching the World Cup final stage. People from all over the world began writing the same thing in sync, with the essence of their tweets and reactions on other social media platforms boiling down to one thought. Messi is the GOAT. Maybe the hype is a bit over the top, and that's understandable. But can we actually consider Lionel Messi the best football player of all time? Believe it or not, you will get the answer in today's episode of Football Club. Let's get going! The ongoing World Cup campaign is special for Lionel Messi. For the first time ever, he looks like a strong team leader who doesn't care about such thing as pressure. Some believe that the key factor in Lionel's rise to a new mental level was the death of Diego Maradona. Yeah, don't be surprised. Many reporters and football fans believe that the shadow of Maradona, who was also physically present in the stadium at the Argentina games, had a negative effect on Messi's performances. When Diego left the stage, Lionel was able to finally shrug endless comparisons and pressure off his back, and that's why we got to see his best game for the national team starting from 2021. Argentina was able to take Copa America home in Brazil, then became the world's strongest team after winning the Finalissimo trophy, and went on with an incredible 36-match-in-bidding streak that was only broken by a shocking defeat to Saudi Arabia. The only thing left for Messi was to confirm his status as a leader at the World Cup. And here the guy exceeded even boldest predictions, because, let's be honest, Lulb Celeste's chances for international triumph were met with lots and lots of skepticism. As for this moment, Lionel is the most important and simply best player of the tournament, having set almost every record a footballer could possibly reach. First and foremost, Messi leads the Golden Boot race along with Mbappé. Both have 5 accurate strikes. Although, if we take a look at goals and assists, Leo single-handedly takes the first spot. Add 3 more assists to the aforementioned goals. Impressive, isn't it? If one takes into account Leo already being a 35-year-old man, then these are just cosmic stats. And we just got started. Next up, we are gonna present to you a few more cogent proofs, which will let us realize with what magnitude we are dealing today. Here they are. The most significant achievement for Messi must be the fact of him becoming Argentina's best scorer ever at the World Cup competitions, surpassing Gabriel Batistuta. 11-10 in favor of Leo. No less importance for the genius makes his shared accomplishments with Maradona in terms of delivered assists at the World Cup. 8-8. The 7-time Ballon d'Or winner became the most experienced player in the history of Albiceleste at the World Cup. The battle against Croatia was Leo's 25th cap, while Maradona had only 21 appearances. La Pulga captained at the World Cup more often than anyone. Leo should have 19 matches with the captain's armband by the end of the tournament, while the previous record belonged to Rafael Marquez, who had 17 matches. A pleasant bonus lies in the fact that after playing in the final, Messi will become the record holder for the amount of World Cup appearances, dethroning Lothar Matthäus. 26 against 25 games. Maldini's record for the number of minutes spent at the World Cup will also get shattered. Messi should accumulate at least 2,300 minutes, while Paula's result officially stopped at 2,217 minutes. Messi also got his name added in the exclusive list of 6 players who have featured in 5 different World Cup companions. Apart from Leo, this esteemed list includes Ronaldo, Guardado, Antonio Carabajal, Lothar Matthäus and Rafael Marquez. Well, what do you think of the list? Is it convincing enough for someone to be nicknamed the GOAT? In some cases, yeah, definitely. However, can Leo beat the 3 bosses who have always pursued him throughout an entire career span? The first one is of apical significance, peppered with a modern flavor. We are talking about La Pulga's battle against Cristiano Ronaldo. To the fans of CR7 who will certainly watch this video, no offense folks, but here the result is already more than clear, Leo takes the cake. Messi beats Ronaldo by the most telling number, which is the number of Ballon d'Or, 7 against 5. It was the dispute that actually meant a lot for the greatest performers of the beginning of the 21st century era. Nevertheless, Leo dominated in the number of team titles collected, 41 against 31. Ron could have countered it with many Champions League trophies he has, 5 against 4. Still, let's admit it, Messi's trophy cabinet looks more substantial. If we look through goals and assists, Messi's advantage take a rather illusory turn. Ronaldo chimes by the number of goals netted, 819 against 791. But Leo is 2 years younger and he still has time to outshoot Cris. Someone might say, and maybe they will be right in a few years' time, but the fact remains the fact. So far, the Portuguese is a little more successful as a striker. In terms of assists, though, the Argentinian easily beats his rival, 350 against 234. According to both scored goals and delivered assists, Messi gets another victory, 1141 against 1053. Interestingly enough, PSG's forward is also more successful than Ron in individual statistics of performances at World Cups. 11 goals, plus 8 assists for Leo, 8 goals and 2 assists for Ron. If by 2021, Ronaldo supporters could claim that their idol is greater than Messi on the international stage due to Portugal's victory at Euro 2016, then thanks to Argentina's success at Copa America 2021, the advantage was nullified. Therefore, Lionel's spell with Argentina appears to be much brighter. Four Copa America finals, one of which was won, and already two World Cup finals, while Ronaldo has none. Alright, let's sum up the matter. Messi pretty confidently beats Ronaldo in the race for the real GOAT status. Period. Going back to Maradona. In fact, Messi has already overcome his mythical influence, although people forget to talk about it. We have already announced the World Cup records Messi managed to conquer, including those which belonged to Diego himself. Unlike Messi, Maradona never got to bring the Argentines at least one Copa America title. Strange indeed, but it's a fact. By the number of goals for Lyle Besseleste, Leo is way ahead of the golden boy, 96 against 34. Only one key aspect remains unresolved. You've guessed it. The number of triumphs at the World Cup tournament. If Messi does win the whole thing, then it will be 1-1, and according to all other stats, Leo gets an unequivocal victory. If Lapulga fails to take the GOAT at the World Cup, he still remains no less iconic figure than Maradona, who was a little unlucky to show full potential. Hit the like button if you agree. It seems to us that Lionel can count on victory here too, isn't it? Ok, who's the next boss? At last, we have Pelé. The king of football, and his three World Cups make probably the most mythologized achievement in the history of the number one game. The fact of Pelé being a great footballer needs no disputes. But is he truly the king of football? Many investigations were held on YouTube, and we are sure you have seen those at least once. To put it simply, Pelé scored only 12 goals at the World Cup, while Messi has 11. Score at least once in the final to equalize, and you're good. The Brazilian's club career was not as remarkable as Leo's. Pelé represented Santos and the New York Cosmos without revealing his level in the top European football arena. The 1,281 goals lauded throughout his entire career included absolutely all strikes from both official and unofficial training duels. It's believed that Pelé actually netted 767 goals in official games. Messi has 791 goals, in case you're wondering. We all know that Pelé and Maradona never got to hold the Ballon d'Or. Though recently, France Football did an alternative study of who would have received Ballon d'Or if they were awarded to players from around the world. Surprisingly, Pelé should have won 7 of them, as many as Leo Messi. However, based on the 2022 World Cup display, we assume that great Argentine has what it takes to go for his 8th prize, beating Pelé in this regard too. By the number of trophies, Messi completely outstrips his stellar colleague. 41 against 31. Does it mean giving another point to Leo? Hell, his three World Cups weighed more than that. Brazilian supporters might say. And they have a right to say so. But football is a team sport. Thus, we feel like those three victories certainly have the merit of other outstanding Brazil footballers. So, if we consider Messi and Pelé as individual athletes, then some of La Pulga's advantages can be seen with the naked eye. Or so it seems to us. At least we have given you enough of our arguments to prove the point. Well, three bosses are down and Lionel Messi is granted the status of the real GOAT. Friends, share your thoughts on the topic in the comments below. Press like if you enjoyed the video and subscribe to Football Club, a channel of high-quality football journalism. Take care and see you next time. Bye-bye.