New Delhi: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has lavished praise on Lionel Messi placing him ahead of football legends Pele and Diego Maradona. He even compared Messi to sporting icons such as Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, declaring the Argentine as the greatest athlete of all time. The Spaniard managed Messi at Barcelona for four seasons at what is regarded as the greatest Barcelona team in history during which they won a total of 14 titles.
While Messi and Ronaldo supporters constantly debate who is the greatest footballer of all time, Guardiola’s opinion is unwavering. “The GOAT? Maybe that’s a lack of respect to Pele and Maradona, but for me, he is,” said Guardiola.
1️⃣🇦🇷 Pep Guardiola: “Leo Messi is the best football player ever”.
“Maybe I’m disrespecting Pelé and Diego Maradona but I can’t imagine anyone like Messi, with his consistency”.
“He’s unique”, tells Che Tempo Che Fa. pic.twitter.com/whA5pGoDBj
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 13, 2024
Their professional partnership ended in 2012, but Messi’s brilliance continues to shine. The 37-year-old is currently playing for MLS side Inter Miami whom he joined last summer on a free transfer. So far Messi has scored 843 goals and is approaching 850 career goals both for club and country.
Leo Messi recently won a record-extending 46th trophy with club and country when he helped Inter Miami to win their first-ever Supporters’ Shield as they topped the MLS regular season points table. Messi even became the most titled player in the sport this summer, moving past his former Barcelona teammate Dani Alves. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner achieved the feat as he led Argentine to the 2024 Copa America title in July, beating Colombia in the final by a scoreline of 1-0 in the extra time.
The Guardiola-Messi partnership at Barcelona
Lionel Messi reached unprecedented heights under Pep Guardiola’s leadership between 2008 and 2012. During this four-year period, Barcelona won 14 titles, including two Champions League trophies and three La Liga titles. Under Guardiola, Messi developed from a promising talent into a global football icon, scoring an astonishing 211 goals and providing 94 assists in just 219 appearances across all competitions.
🇦🇷 Lionel Messi’s stats under Pep Guardiola are out of this world:
👕 219 games
⚽ 221 goals
🎯 91 assists
🏆 Together they won 14 out of 19 titles
🏆 Messi won 4/4 Ballon d’Or
The greatest player-manager combination! 🐐👏🏽 pic.twitter.com/WRbPd2LhiT
— Sholy Nation Sports (@Sholynationsp) June 5, 2024
The pinnacle of their partnership came in the 2008-09 season when Barcelona won a historic treble (La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League). Messi contributed 38 goals and 20 assists in 51 matches that season, becoming the focal point of Guardiola’s all-conquering team. In his final season under Pep, Messi delivered one of the greatest individual campaigns in football history as he scored 73 goals and provided 34 assists in just 60 appearances across all competitions.
Although El Clásico always draws attention, the 2011-12 season was not kind to Barcelona. The Blaugrana lost the La Liga title to their arch-rivals, Real Madrid, and were eliminated by Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals with a close 3-2 aggregate score.
As Messi continues to add to his legendary career both on and off the field the debate about his place in football history continues to dwindle. But for Pep Guardiola there is no debate – Lionel Messi is the greatest of all time.
Man City manager Pep Guardiola once again hailed Lionel Messi as the greatest footballer of all time. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
