Messi beats Maradona hands down if greatness is judged solely on numbers. The midfield maestro - who died in June - won the Argentine league in 1981 with Boca Juniors before moving to Barcelona. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Copyright 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc. Who is the better dribbler: Messi or Ronaldinho? Johan Cruyffs stint as Barcelona manager laid the foundation for a positive change. The two European clubs that most famously employed the man who, for decades, was considered to be the greatest Argentine player ever. In 1998, before the World Cup in France, Fifa cracked down on tackles from behind and made it a serious offence. , Updated March 1, 2023, Maradona vs Ronaldo vs Messi: Comparing three all-time greats. Marvin Gaskins is a natural at what he does. "Hes an icon. Who is better, Messi now or Maradona then? Please contact us in case of abuse. Whereas Maradona was brash and brutally charming, Messi was introverted, clean-cut and unemotional. 18 Who is the most capped Scottish footballer of all time? The discussion has been held many times before, and will no doubt be raised on many more occasions in the future, but the loss of the masterful Argentina forward aged just 60 has only intensified his claim to the throne. If fans had thought that the best of Ronaldo came at Manchester United, they were in for a shock. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. He sets down an insider's view of his experiences in his book "War and Justice in the 21st Century: A Case Study on the International Criminal Court and its Interaction With the War on Terror," published last November. Then again, Maradona himself had defended Messi over not winning a World Cup. The 26-year-old already has five Ballons d'Or (World Player of the Year awards) and one FIFA World Cup winner's medal to his name.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'sportsmanist_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_2',118,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sportsmanist_com-medrectangle-3-0'); He is also the most expensive player in history when including transfer fees: 200 million ($272 million). There has never been, nor will there ever be, a better pure goalscorer than Lionel Messi. Messi has been consistently successful since he made his debut in 2004, while Maradona became more effective before declining at age 30. It's no surprise that Messi has been so often compared to Maradona seeing as they're both left-footed, diminutive Argentinean males considered by many to be the standout player of their generation. Maradona went to the relegation-threatened Napoli in 1984, played against the very best of the game, countered catenaccio and man-marking and still shone the brightest, securing his clubs rise in the process. Both players gave their all (still giving, in Messi's case) and have nothing left to prove to anyone. Football has been around for more than a century but only a handful of players have been able to achieve legendary status while transcending through different generations of fans. Real Madrid is often the stuff of dreams for a footballer partly because of the glamour associated with playing at Santiago Bernabeu along with several other stars. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times . But the latter fell at the final hurdle. The Diego Maradona versus Lionel Messi debate is volatile, and also subjective. Lionel Messi has been able to break numerous scoring records, win several collective honours with Barcelona, and take up more Ballon dOr awards than any other player. What is Messi known for? His overall record 71 goals in 142 games looks good thanks to a string of goals in friendly matches. WebLionel Messi will never be able to better Diego Maradona "even if he wins four World Cups in a row", according to Argentina legend Mario Kempes. FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS - BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS. Incorrect password. Maradona on the other hand? Footballing greatness is not judged purely on the number of goals scored and trophies won. he'll exclaim over some or other outrage or absurdity Moreno Ocampo is known as a judicious and meticulous compiler of material facts. Maradona has only one World Cup victory. However, he was able to achieve success at a time when science was just making its presence felt in the game. Messis career is far more decorated than his deceased compatriot. Messi was coming through the ranks at Barcelona when the club was going through the highs of Ronaldinho. Alfredo Di Stefano and George Best never played at a World Cup. Messi's achievements are without parallel in world football and it is not even his debut season: he became the first player to score 100 or more goals in a single campaign when Barca beat Real Madrid 4-1 last month. In terms of pure skill Maradona was even more magical than Messi. His ball control, the precision of his shots and the things he did in training ar Maradona, by comparison, scored fewer than 400 career goals. No other footballer has earned so much during their career. As such, it's only a natural leap to have seen people tapping their watches in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and now 2022 in anticipation of Messi surely one day replicating his forebear by winning the biggest trophy of all single-handedly. They are both equally talented, each one a great player and both of them a glory to the game. He has also attained one title from youth and at least five titles from friendly competitions. During his time at Barca, Messi has won several trophies including four Spanish titles, two La Liga MVP awards, and one UEFA Champions League title. These days Moreno Ocampo is exploring international justice not in the courtroom but in the USC classroom, where he often collaborates with colleague Ted Braun, a filmmaker whose "Darfur Now" prominently features Moreno Ocampo in his ICC role. Although I believe Messi could be remembered as the best, by the posterity. Hence, it is natural that comparisons have come about pitting Maradona with modern-day greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. "Argentina 1985" recounts the actual testimony of a terrified pregnant woman who spontaneously gave birth after being tossed in the back of a police car. There's more to his game, but 626 goals in 715 games for Barcelona is Because of his discipline and consistency, Messi has stayed at the top for close to a decade-and-a-half, compared to Maradonas just six to seven prime years in top-flight football. Lionel Messi is an Argentina national team and FC Barcelona soccer player. He became the second-youngest player behind Johan Cruyff to score their first goal for the club when he found the net against Levante UD on 8 December 2004. To be fair to you, Leo, it's a near-impossible task. From the mid-90s and especially since the turn of the century, football started to open its heart and hearth to attackers. Maradona even has a religious movement named after him called The Church of Maradona. Watch: First trailer for new series of Race Across The World, EastEnders' Balvinder Sopal: 'There's no love between Suki and Nish', Sky Sports launches dedicated UHD channel for Formula 1. While Maradona was a fighter against the world, Messi seems to be a naturally timid, even modest person. What was evident in Maradona, however, was his street urchin savvy. He racked up over 300 career goals for his slate of clubs (most of whom were never close to as good as theBarcelonateamsMessihas featured for, but we'll get to that later), but the stats don't lie on this one., If we're not here assessing the two greatest players to have ever played the game, then we're at least here assessing the two most effective dribblers. Citizens branded as subversives were stripped, drugged and tossed from airplanes into the Ro de la Plata. Still, Messi's honours list is outrageous. This is quite different from the days of Maradona and Pele, as South American greats were competing in different eras. With seven Ballon d'Or titles and a world record for the most goals scored in a calendar year, there's good reason to think that Messi has surpassed Maradona overall, but the little genius seems destined to forever be negatively compared to his compatriot at the World Cup. Was fouled per game: Maradona 7.6-2.6 Messi. Overall, Messi has won 39 trophies during his career, compared to Maradona's 11. How much money does Messi make a year at Barcelona? Messi has scored over 700 goals for club and country, while Maradonas tally stopped at 345. Who is a better player, Messi now or Maradona then? Not the architect but the orchestrator of Total Football, developed at Ajax and transferred to the national team. Argentina had won the 1978 World Cup on home patch all right, but fixing allegations, against Peru, tainted their success. In his 172 Argentina games, he has scored 98 times which averages at around a goal every other game. In case of abuse. Only Pel, Diego Maradona and George Best can really compare." His two goals against the British team in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico City are now legendary. LIONEL MESSI cemented himself further as a footballing legend by becoming the first Argentine to lift the World Cup since Diego Maradona. The fact of the matter is, however, that he wasn't, and he didn't. He kept his word. The club also would go on to hand over Messi with the first of his many titles like the Champions League and La Liga. MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - JUNE 22: Diego Maradona of Argentina turns to celebrate after scoring the first goal as England defender Gary Stevens looks towards the linesman during the FIFA 1986 World Cup match between Argentina and England at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Mexico on June 22, 1986, the goal was later to be known as 'The Hand of God'. https://footballwhispers.com/blog/maradona-vs-ronaldo-vs-messi Big-time hero, small-time villain (unless you were English in the 1980s), Diego Armando Maradona melded fantastical football and a larger-than-life lifestyle to brilliant effect. Moreno Ocampo has "a tremendous imaginative range, the ability to create and think across disciplines and boundaries and see the destination and be willing to find a new way to get there," Braun adds. Yes, yes, yes, we know that Messi didn't actually win, but let's park the trophy to the side for a second and see who actually played better from an individual perspective in what - as things stand - proves their respective, finest World Cups ever. "We engaged the students in a very heated discussion about the judicial status of the Jedi," says Braun, who encouraged his friend to make the jump from Harvard to Southern California. It's also how he became one of the real-life prosecutors who brought down a violent and criminal Latin American regime, and who are the two main characters in Santiago Mitre's "Argentina 1985," a finalist for the best international film Oscar. Manage Settings Both those films also deal with the dirty war's legacy. Messi scored twice in the 3-3 final draw with France and netted in the shootout Argentina eventually won. Who are the highest paid soccer players in the world. 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