Gary Lineker has revived the eternal football debate by firmly supporting Lionel Messi as the greatest player of all time, placing him out of the reach of Cristiano Ronaldo and other football icons.
The former English striker and long -standing presenter of the match of the day gave his opinion on the debate on the goat and insisted that Messi reached “another level”.
For over 15 years, Messi and Ronaldo have dominated a whole era of football. From their golden years in Barcelona and Real Madrid to their global influence continues today, the two superstars have redefined the concept of excellence in this sport. If the two players display individual distinctions, record statistics and club successes, Messi's triumph with Argentina at the FIFA World Cup 2022 seems to have tipped the balance in its favor.
If Ronaldo's prowess and longevity as a scorer remain unrivaled in some respects, the mixture of talent, vision of the game and artistic talent of Messi on the field convinced Lineker that the Argentinian has no equal. However, his position had a personal cost. The former Leicester City striker and the England team admitted that the Portuguese had cut the bridges with him because of the public preference of Lineker for Messi.
Going beyond Messi-Ronaldo rivalry, Lineker then shared her personal “Mont Rushmore” football, a symbolic list of the four greatest players in history. For Lineker, this elite group includes Pelé, Diego Maradona, Messi and, in tribute to his talent shorted by injuries, the Brazilian Ronaldo Nazario.
Messi always above
“He is (Messi) my favorite player of all time, simply because he is the best player of all time, in my opinion. Even the difference between some of the greatest players, such as Cruyff, Zidane, Ronaldo, the fact that we can have a higher, clearly higher level, is really remarkable “He said.
“Without his injuries, I think we would have had the Brazilian Ronaldo in this conversation,” he added.
Unfortunately, he did it, but he still accomplished incredible things, and he was happy. He was absent from the game for three and a half years, then managed to return and win the Golden Shoe at the World Cup. Seriously ? So, if I had one more, if I had four, you know, the thing of Mount Rushmore, yes, it would be my four. So, Pelé, Maradona, Messi, Fenomeno (Ronaldo).
The debate is now closed
Despite the categorical position of Lineker, the Messi-Ronaldo debate is not likely to disappear from the public debate as soon as it is. The two players divided opinion as few others, each having built an extremely faithful supporters' base over the years. However, for Lineker, the debate is now closed. With his title in the World Cup, his years of constant glory and his style of play mixing genius and thanks, Messi is popular in the eyes of the former Match of the Day presenter.
