A year ago
Growing up in Rosario as an abnormally little youngster, Lionel Messi had misgivings about his brothers.
Messi believed that his siblings were letting him run circles around them on the sand-filled neighborhood fields so as to prevent a typical tantrum from their younger brother. The ball was almost as tall as his knee.
Three decades later, the somewhat taller Argentine needs to be persuaded of his extraordinary talent—unless Rodrigo and Matias Messi painstakingly staged the best playing career of the modern era to appease young Lionel.
As Paris Saint-playmaker Germain's scampered onto Kylian Mbappe's nimble return pass on Saturday night, the Lens defense was undoubtedly helpful opponents. Messi snuck a sharp shot into the far corner while dodging the crowd of yellow and red, bringing his career total in Europe's top five leagues to 495 goals.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo has scored as many goals in the premier divisions of England, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France.
Before traveling to Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo made 626 appearances in the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A. In contrast, Messi only required 572 appearances to catch up to his longtime rival, logging roughly 74 fewer hours on the field while scoring just as frequently.
Messi said in January 2020, "I think about scoring goals less and less.
"I obviously enjoy scoring goals, and if I have the chance, I'll take it, but every time I step onto the field, my attention is divided between the game and goal-scoring. I've never had a goal obsession."
Obviously, Ronaldo cannot be considered to be the same.
Messi asserted that he had started to focus more on playing the role of a facilitator. He explained, "I'm starting to step back more and more to be the creative instead of the one who finishes. Messi has long been the more frequent assist provider even though he matches Ronaldo in front of goal.
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