Physically, there's no player you would ever take ahead of Messi, because speed and acceleration is the most vital attribute there is in football. And Messi was the most devastating player at this. Football is not boxing, by physicality, I mean speed and intensity first and foremost.
Stop responding to the poopjeet. He's just provoking with another session of stinking up threads as if was in the cow shit eating festival in Bangalore.
Messi was "faster" not because top speed, which is meaningless, but because of the 99 in agility and acceleration, which are stats that matter in what we consider into pace metrics in football context.
And you are also omitting his strength. Many people associate strength with bulkiness and height, which is ignorant. Strength has nothing to do with either. Messi was way stronger than even Lewandowsky in his prime, let alone now. His low gravity center and short and super fast legs helped, of course, but he also was rarely pushed to the ground by large and bulky defenders, even, when challenged with direct physical pressure. It was almost impossible to push him down or pressure him off the ball, he just kept on going leaving a trail of fumbling and tumbling defenders. Remember those "Messi never dives" comps. He did it all his career. He was sturdy as fuck and showed that even recently in at 35 in the WC. Only way to stop him is kicking his legs, which is not the case with tall, lanky players like Lewi. Muscles and sixpack doesn't help that. Leg strength and exceptional balance does. Kounde would be our strongest player, if believed poopster, but he is actually weak as fuck on legs, constantly tripping all over himself and being pushed around, because bodybuilders suck at this.
