Column: Does Lionel Messi need to win the World Cup to be considered Soccer's G.O.A.T.?
When you're one of the great ones, there seems to always be something that fans, media members and critics point out that they need to accomplish in order to enhance their legacy or solidify their greatness. It happens to most of the great athletes.
Well, the latest and what has been a constant discussion point for years, surrounds soccer mastermind Lionel Messi and whether he needs to win a World Cup in order to truly be viewed as the greatest soccer player of all-time.
With the 2022 World Cup set to take place later this year in November in Qatar, that question will continue to come up. It's been inescapable for Messi. To many, Messi leading his country of Argentina to a World Cup is like a prerequisite for him to be regarded as the greatest.
To some, Messi is called the "best club footballer ever" but hold the right to reserve the "Best Ever" talks until he holds that beautiful, shinny golden trophy in his hands.
He's held to such otherworldly standards because he really is the holy grail of all footballers.
He does the unimaginable on the pitch. His ability to create absolutely nothing out of something blows the mind. Watching him makes you feel like you're experiencing an adrenaline rush because he mesmerizes the brain with some of the things he does with a soccer ball. His genius truly transcends the sport in ways that are hard to comprehend.
Lionel Messi is the soccer version of Pablo Picasso.
There really isn't any other way to put it.
In terms of club football, Messi has literally done it all with Barcelona and now PSG (Paris Saint-Germain). It's his international career that has drawn the most criticism but when you look deeper, it holds up pretty well compared to his ultimate rival in Cristiano Ronaldo and what he's done with Portugal.
Messi has actually had more success with national team than Ronaldo
When it comes down to who the soccer world thinks is the best ever, usually four names come to mind: Messi, Ronaldo, Pele and Diego Maradona.
No disrespect to the likes of Brazilian Ronaldo, Eusebio, Alfredo Di Stefano, Zinedine Zidane, Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer but those four are the singular four players that dominate the GOAT headlines these days. Ronaldo, Pele and Maradona are really the only players in history Messi is often judged against and compared to in any and every GOAT conversation.
Like Messi, Ronaldo is also without a World Cup. Though, if there was one advantage that Ronaldo had over his counterpart for sometime was that he had led Portugal to two major international trophies (2016 Euros, 2019 Nations League), while Messi had won zero with Argentina.
Heading into 2021, the international trophy tally read: Ronaldo 2, Messi 0.
Now midway in 2022, the international trophy number reads: Ronaldo 2, Messi 2.
Things are now even up in that department. Messi finally captured that elusive international trophy by leading Argentina to the 2021 Copa America title — while being named the Best Player of the Tournament — and then last month defeated the 2020 Euro champions Italy (played in 2021) convincingly 3-0 to win the Finalissima Cup (match between the previous European champion and South America champion). Now riding a 32-match unbeaten streak (third-longest international streak in history), Argentina will head into this year's World Cup as one of the favorites to hoist the country's third-ever trophy (1978,1986).
Now even in trophies won, where Messi has the current edge between the two's international career is in the:
a.) number of international tournament finals made
b.) going further in the World Cup
Ronaldo has played in two international tournament finals (winning both), yet Messi has played in five (four Copa America finals, one World Cup final). And even though Messi is 1-4 in those finals, the ability to carry your team to that point in competitions filled with other high-class teams does count for something and shows the aptitude to be able to lift a group of teammates to a certain level no matter the circumstance.
I believe Messi has done that a little bit better than Ronaldo, not just with their national teams but also at the club level.
Another case in point is the World Cup. Messi catches so much flak for not winning on soccer's most grandest stage but there's never any mention of him actually getting all the way to a World Cup final — a heck of a feat in itself — which he did in 2014 where Argentina fell to Germany 1-0 in extra time.
Throughout that World Cup, when Argentina struggled to breakdown defenses, it was Messi who constantly came to the rescue and conjured up moments of brilliance that was every bit needed by him, especially against Iran in the second match of the group stage.
To add to that, he won the prized Golden Ball (Best Player at the World Cup), which is sometimes reserved for players on the World Cup winning team. There he scored four goals, had 1 assist and won four Man of the Match awards.
Ronaldo had never won the Golden Ball. He's also never played in a World Cup final. The furthest Ronaldo has been in the World Cup is the semifinals in 2006, when he was a youngster and Luis Figo was Portugal's top player.
Messi's done both.
Yes, Ronaldo is the all-time international goals leader with 117 — with Messi sitting fourth at 86 — but given the combination of team and individual play, the Argentine has had the slightly better international career on top of what he's done at the club level.
Are Pele's three World Cups enough to overtake Messi?
Let's get this out of the way: Even if Messi does win the World Cup this year (will probably be his last), he's not catching Pele's three World Cups with Brazil. Too far of a bridge to climb. Time just isn't on his side.
Because Pele has three World Cups to Messi's zero, does that solely mean he's greater throughout history? World Cup success can't be the be-all and end-all in the argument.
Pele is universally seen as soccer's greatest player. And for good reason too. It's reported he's scored over 1,000 goals in his career. The man was magical on the pitch in his heyday. Go back and watch footage of him in a Brazil or Santos shirt. He was a true marvel and is mainly responsible for helping globalize soccer, especially making it more visible in America.
However, if there are any knocks, it's that he never played club football in Europe, widely seen as the highest level of competition in the world including back then in the 1950s and 1960s, like Messi has.
Yes, he did lead his Brazilian club Santos to two Intercontinental Cups against European powers (Benfica in 1962, A.C. Milan in 1963) but never played for any of the super clubs like Barcelona, Manchester United or Real Madrid. The Brazilian league was ultra-competitive and had some of the best players in the world during that time but it wasn't on the same measure as Europe.
So therefore, Pele never won or had the chance to compete for the highest honors in Europe like the Champions League, Ballon d'Or, European Golden Shoes and win major trophies. Messi has won all of those honors and multiples times at that. The better question is, should we hold it against Pele that he never played in Europe like many of the other greats?
That's a difficult one to answer. That could have just been a product of the times type situation. However, one thing is clear: Messi has certainly accomplished more in his career and when it comes down to ability and who was the best player at their peak, the Argentine was every bit Pele's equal and in my view, even better.
Whether Messi wins the World Cup or not, won't change that.
The Argentina clash: Messi versus Maradona
If there's one past legend that Messi is often compared to and pitted against in debates, it's his fellow countryman Diego Maradona.
Interestingly enough, the Messi-Maradona argument is not so much made by soccer talking heads but more so by Argentinians, who if you ask a number of them on the streets of Argentina who they prefer or who they feel is the better footballer, most will side with Maradona.
Overall, Maradona (who passed away in 2020) is plainly more loved, adored and had (still has) more of an attachment with the country of Argentina than Messi has ever had.
If Messi is looked at as a King in Argentina, Maradona is worshiped like a God.
Here are some of the reasons why...
1. Messi, who's from Rosario, became a star in Spain and didn't play club football in Argentina, unlike Maradona who started his club career in Argentina playing for the Argentinos Juniors. That helped ingratiate Maradona more to the Argentine people, and made them question Messi's loyalty to his country.
2. Maradona seems more relatable than Messi. A big reason is that Messi was middle-class growing up, while Maradona grew up poor in the slums of Buenos Aires and that made his rags-to-riches story even more inspiring. His problem with drugs made him more endearing. He bonded more with the people, which made him personable and more accessible.
Maradona can easily be described as the "Man of the People."
3. Bigger personality and character. The perception around Messi is that he's more reserved, while Maradona is the more flamboyant type, which resonates more with the people in Argentina.
4. And most importantly, Maradona holds the trump card of having won a World Cup. The memories of that 1986 World Cup — where Maradona scored or created 10 of Argentina's 14 goals — still lingers in the hearts and minds of Argentines, still 36 years later. That's something Messi hasn't delivered yet, and the Maradona supporters are quick to bring it up.
For Argentinians who saw Maradona at his height, he remains unassailable. It's like with a certain generation of fans who say Kobe Bryant or LeBron James will never surpass Michael Jordan in their eyes or even pushing aside Tiger Woods in favor of Jack Nicklaus.
They have a built-in advantage of coming first.
Yet, just saying Maradona is greater than Messi based merely on him winning the World Cup is irresponsible and lazy. I hate to break it to the Argentine people but Messi is better than Maradona, and it really isn't that close. Honestly, that conversation realistically ended around 2014 or 2015.
And I will prove it.
Maradona played 10 seasons in Europe (Europe's Top 5 leagues). Messi has played 18 seasons. Here is how they stack up:
Champions Leagues: Messi 4, Maradona 0
Ballon d'Or's: Messi 7 (record), Maradona 0 (never finished in the top 3 of voting)
European Golden Shoes (top goal scorer in Europe): Messi 6 (record), Maradona 0
League titles: Messi 11, Maradona 2 (both with Napoli)
Major club trophies: Messi 35, Maradona 7
Times led their league in goals: Messi 8, Maradona 1
Times led their league in assists: Messi 6, Maradona 0
Career International goals: Messi 86 (most by a South American), Maradona 34
Most goals in a club season (all competitions): Messi 73 in 2012 (record), Maradona 21 in 1988. BTW: The most goals Pele scored was 66 in 1958 with Santos.
If you wanna go who's more impactful on the pitch, Messi has demonstrated more than enough that he wins that battle as well, as he is adept at carry both super-talented squads at the club level and above-average, solid groups with his national team.
It's not even that he's had a superior career but he's a more complete player too.
What separates Messi from Pele, Ronaldo and Maradona is that he's the only player — at some point in time in history — that has simultaneously been the best goal scorer, dribbler, passer, creator/playmaker and free-kick taker in the sport. That's insane.
Basically, Messi doesn't need a World Cup to validate that's he's the GOAT because he already is. Winning the World Cup would be nice and a cherry on the top, though it still wouldn't change anything.
Don't fight it. Just embrace it.
jsimpson@gannett.com
Twitter: @JamesSimpsonII
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Does Lionel Messi need to win the World Cup to be considered the G.O.A.T.?
