10 - Lionel Messi - V6

[LordLichtenstein]

Ronaldo's play is about speed and physique and over the next few years it will start to deteriorate, which is to be expected - after all he is turning 34 next. With that said, he will likely keep his fitness, but his body will start to show its limits on the field. In my opinion, we already got a few glimpses of his decline last season.

Messi on the other hand isn't as dependant on his physique or even speed - he possess an incomparable football intelligence, vision and technique. Regardless of age, Messi will always find space to score and a keypass to assist. I fully expect Messi to score 45+ and assist 20+ well into his 30's.

 

[KingLeo10]

nothing wrong with appreciating CR7's status as a legend of the game and his physical attributes...but the outright drooling over him and the "OMG RONALDO DA PHYSICAL SPECIMEN. LOL MESSI WEAKLING" merchants need to take a hike to the real madrid forums (oh wait, the juve forums )

oh and for all of CR7's strength, he sure does tumble over easily.

 

[MagIX]

Saying the Messi is not even closed (physical shape) to CR is beyond the ridiculous.

Are you serious or trolling ? being in a Physical shape means having a six pack ? . By that logic no pro footballers comes close to Seedorf .

I agree
Federer should be a poor athlete and already retired years ago...

 

[DonAK]

Pep taught Messi how to ask Antonella out

Pep made Messi have sex with Antonella and get a kid to take his focus away from football to make Barca weaker once he left.

No wonder they call Pep a genius.

Spoken like someone who probably doesn't exercise. Look at how freaking lean Ronaldo is. It shows alot about his day to day workout regiment and most importantly how good his diet is, that's why he remains fast, agile, with explosive power at 33. The dude is the complete package when it comes to an athlete. Saying messi isn't far off is so cringe tier. Stop being fanboys, just cause messi is a better footballer doesn't make him the better athletic specimen

Cristiano is the better physical specimen, but you don't have to be a freak to be in an outstanding shape, nor do you need to be a physical freak to prolong your career.

Trying to come across as if you're some big guru when it comes to sports physiology is so hilarious when you're unable to differentiate between the two.

Also, the reason Cristiano has adapted his style of play is because he's lost some pace and agility and explosivity, as it's natural to decline in those aspects with age.

 

[BigBarcaBoy]

What a stupid argument

 

[DonAndres]

Similar stats to show how his defensive help has evolved?

For all the talk about Ronaldo's defensive contribution compared to Messi, he has pretty much NEVER had a season or competition with more tackles per game than Messi or actual defensive contribution outside of aerial duels. Messi usually doubles him in tackles and is equal in interceptions.

Seriously, when the guy presses it's like a fake "I'm charging at you" only to give up like halfway there. Hardly if ever see him actually make it tough for the opponent in buildup. Just that he does a bit more jogging/running than Messi so it skews the optics.

Messi actually picks the pockets of defenders and times himself better in these situations. I'll take actual defensive contributions over imaginary ones, especially since Messi's energy conservation allows him to be the quick outlet on the counter and actually lead the charge forward rather than just running and waiting for delivery.

 

[FCB1987]

Ronaldo's play is about speed and physique and over the next few years it will start to deteriorate, which is to be expected - after all he is turning 34 next. With that said, he will likely keep his fitness, but his body will start to show its limits on the field. In my opinion, we already got a few glimpses of his decline last season.

Messi on the other hand isn't as dependant on his physique or even speed - he possess an incomparable football intelligence, vision and technique. Regardless of age, Messi will always find space to score and a keypass to assist. I fully expect Messi to score 45+ and assist 20+ well into his 30's.

Ronaldo's game today is less about speed/physique and more about movement in the box and goalscoring. I wouldn't be surprised if he still has a few more years left as an elite goalscorer.

 

[El Gato]

For all the talk about Ronaldo's defensive contribution compared to Messi, he has pretty much NEVER had a season or competition with more tackles per game than Messi or actual defensive contribution outside of aerial duels. Messi usually doubles him in tackles and is equal in interceptions.

Seriously, when the guy presses it's like a fake "I'm charging at you" only to give up like halfway there. Hardly if ever see him actually make it tough for the opponent in buildup. Just that he does a bit more jogging/running than Messi so it skews the optics.

Messi actually picks the pockets of defenders and times himself better in these situations. I'll take actual defensive contributions over imaginary ones, especially since Messi's energy conservation allows him to be the quick outlet on the counter and actually lead the charge forward rather than just running and waiting for delivery.

Why so defensive?

So... no stats for that?

 

[KingLeo10]

Why so defensive?

So... no stats for that?

The only good forwards that actually contribute to defense are liverpool's trio, atletico and maybe some of juve like mandzukic. So I'm not sure what defensive stats will tell us when it comes to messi or CR7.

 

[El Gato]

The only good forwards that actually contribute to defense are liverpool's trio, atletico and maybe some of juve like mandzukic. So I'm not sure what defensive stats will tell us when it comes to messi or CR7.

Not really. Defense involves pressing and possessions won directly due to the player involvement in pressing at a given moment. I'm just wondering if there are stats detailing that. That's all.

I remember a big time argument over this xG stuff. Partly because it's a purely offensive metric. Many stat padders will look good as a result of it, some more complete attackers than others. But as players? I'd prefer to see the other side of things too.

 

[DonAndres]

Why so defensive?

So... no stats for that?

Well I thought it was a loaded comment.

If you're being sincere, I too would love to see defensive advanced stats get developed. I don't know of any at the moment though. Also seems like a more difficult task in general than making these impact statistics for offense which revolve around touches on the ball, something that can be measured directly.

From what I can tell, OPTA and some other institutions (some football websites, probably a shit ton of clubs in their analytics departments) have been using these xG type stats for at least a few years prior to the public being able to access them. So I assume they have even more stats right now that are used privately but not publicly known/accessible yet. Perhaps this includes defensive metrics.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

Messi is miles better of a complete footballer than CR... let's not distract from that reality, which the website/graphs clearly show. CR can keep the accolades, six pack, and popularity contests but to people who clearly know football, Messi is the stand alone G.O.A.T.

 

[Blaugrana Bull]

I sincerely think that Messi is a curse too. Dude is GOAT for real but right now he is limited to a very specific creator role that makes the whole squad concentrate on him. He is not the additional piece in a functionating squad but the one that everyone else has to evolve around. Problem is his physical level which makes it impossible to rely on him. Unfortunately to inconsistent to rely on him in big games. You cannot even put him in striker role even if he would have the best creators around him because he is not willing to attack the box as much as he should. Messi is the one, no question, but if the squad is designed to take away something from him whole team crumbles because of his weaknesses.

 

[clemente]

I sincerely think that Messi is a curse too. Dude is GOAT for real but right now he is limited to a very specific creator role that makes the whole squad concentrate on him. He is not the additional piece in a functionating squad but the one that everyone else has to evolve around. Problem is his physical level which makes it impossible to rely on him. Unfortunately to inconsistent to rely on him in big games. You cannot even put him in striker role even if he would have the best creators around him because he is not willing to attack the box as much as he should. Messi is the one, no question, but if the squad is designed to take away something from him whole team crumbles because of his weaknesses.

So he is just a player that is limited to be a very specific creator but scores the most goals season after season for years now, makes sense.

 

[Aryagorn]

I sincerely think that Messi is a curse too. Dude is GOAT for real but right now he is limited to a very specific creator role that makes the whole squad concentrate on him. He is not the additional piece in a functionating squad but the one that everyone else has to evolve around. Problem is his physical level which makes it impossible to rely on him. Unfortunately to inconsistent to rely on him in big games. You cannot even put him in striker role even if he would have the best creators around him because he is not willing to attack the box as much as he should. Messi is the one, no question, but if the squad is designed to take away something from him whole team crumbles because of his weaknesses.

Don't think he is someone that every one has to evolve around - Just that, we have a bunch of great achievers who are in the retirement-mode, don't wanna work very hard anymore and just wanna use the wildcard to bail them out every single time!

It's not his fault that the board never saw that and made arrangements to shake it a bit!