Yeah, but its a bit backwards to hold the performance against him, because no one really does that in big or small games.
Messi has done some incredible things in big games, enough to be talked about as the best ever even though he is just 25. His game against United in the CL final might be the best individual performance I have ever seen in a game of that caliber. But he still did not first score 3 great goals and then top it of with a 30-yard overhead kick.
And if we disregard Messi, no other player is much of a "big game player". C. Ronaldo certainly is not. In CL knockouts no player ever relaxes, and the best players gets a huge amount of marking. While Messi have constantly dribbled his way through them in certain games, no other player does.
Sure, I would like to see Ibra completely dominate a big CL game before he quits. But his performances have been good enough for a world class player, just never that "unique" level he showed in the friendly against England.
