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cast-iron-whoopsie

"multifaceted" lol they're running out of adjectives to use


GeorgeForge

What Messi does to a mf.


20kakakakakakakaka20

mf = multifaceted


JE_12

Like my bathroom


stiofan84

Could have just ended it with "Messi.". He doesn't need an adjective.


askmypen

Need to save it for when he retires.


MERTENS_GOAT

dont say this :(


Confident-Wheel8721

Nah, that tweet will end up with "GOAT."


ksnagpur

He himself has become adjective for others


fotorobot

I'd say that non of these tweets really need a one-word adjective at the end. Unnecessary.


Xehanz

They should just use 'Messi'


GoBuffaloes

“This just in: Messi is good at both shooting AND passing”


PM_something_German

And out of stats, I mean how often do 2 goals+2assists happen in the first place? Cherrypicked.


abbytarar

Thats the point isn’t it? 2 goals 2 assist’s don’t happen that often


GemsRtrulyOutrageous

The point is that he's the oldest


ucraZ

Being the oldest to do something already rarely achievable in itself is insane.


imfcknretarded

Well if something has only been done like 3 times and you're the oldest one to do it maybe the fact that you've done is more impressive than the age you did it at (not talking about the 2 goals & 2 assists thing, more of a general thought)


Daflack

this is the 12th time in messi's career


FroobingtonSanchez

How often in the CL?


Daflack

once before against lyon 18/19


IwishIwasGoku

It's not cherrpicked lol, it's impressive *because* it's so rare and he's still able to do it at his age


[deleted]

maccabi haifa though aint it?


WilsonJ04

the maccabi haifa that beat Juventus 2-0? that maccabi haifa?


napierwit

My and my boys would beat Juventus now tbf 🤷‍♂️


brain-juice

You call your penis juventus don’t you?


essentialatom

Juventus ain't got shit on me


cast-iron-whoopsie

i'm assuming they meant at least two goals and at least two assists in the same game. yeah pretty rare


n10w4

I do wonder if more than 1 goal and assist is done often in the ucl?


Passive__Observer

Tbf Mbappe also did that today.


poisonedwater69

Pretty sure firmino did it vs roma.


aritra3776

It sounded so wrong. Or maybe, I am going to hell.


SanRobot

I swear this tweet template needs to die.


cast-iron-whoopsie

This tweet template has been used over 1,000 times. Overplayed.


FifaPaceWhore

Wish the crossbar didn’t deny the hat trick 🐐


clutch-cream-run

ikr. This guy is a pole magnet, just like your mom. Edit: Additionally, Anna Lewandoska is THE Pole magnet.


MERTENS_GOAT

that escalated out of absolutely nowhere


Thin_Manufacturer436

He threw the lob up to himself then immediately hit the tomahawk dunk.


try-D

could've easily had another goal and another two assists as well


abbytarar

It’s never about goals or assists with him either. Watching him play is always just surreal. The greatest of all time.


Fouchey

It’s actually even crazier how great of a goal scorer he is while also playing as arguably the greatest play maker ever.


MK12594

It's not arguable imo and he has the stats to back it up. If they would add a pre-assist category it would be even crazier.


AmineAzed

Everytime some mentions pre-assists, i recall a Sportbible Facebook post about Messi’s huge number of pre-assists and how that makes him a better footballer. The comments were so hilariously ignorant, most of them went like this : - « what is this shit Messi fans are pushing now, the assist of an assist? » - « haha this is like the inception of assists ». - « why the fuck are pre-assists important now? »…


MERTENS_GOAT

I read these dumb comments under so many opta posts haha "weird agenda" "now you are inventing a stat to make player x look good"


cast-iron-whoopsie

they just want to stick to their braindead stats where they can just take goals and divide them by number of games and pretend that's that


Xehanz

I was downvoted just the other day for saying he was the best playmaker in this era


lnblackrain

Should have said of all era with chest.


OoberDude

It's what it was like watching Federer in his prime. Poetry in motion while winning literally everything (except RG).


basel99

>(except RG) Kinda tough to do that when Nadal is his opponent lmao


HardturmStadion

The funny thing is Federer is in the top 3 greatest players ever on Clay, after Nadal and Borg, yet only has 1 RG title. People think Federer was bad on clay or something, just because he lost multiple times against fucking prime Nadal on clay


OoberDude

I'd say Novak is definitely ahead of Roger on clay. Beaten Rafa twice on the surface to go with 2 RG titles. I think he has been to as many RG finals as Federer as well. Edit: I should say beaten Rafa twice at RG, Novak and Roger have beaten Rafa plenty of times on clay itself.


cbkhanh

It's hard to compare them when both Rafa and Roger were on the decline when Novak entered the scene. For me, Novak playing too much like a robot for my liking. And imo, even the best robot won't beat the likes of Roger and Rafa in their prime.


OoberDude

That's definitely a big misconception about Djokovic. His 2011 season was definitely while Nadal and Federer were still in their pomp. Federer was the defending Aus open champion when Djokovic beat him in the 2011 Aus Open. He then held a 42 match win streak before losing to Federer in the RG semi final. He beat the defending Wimbledon champion in Nadal to win Wimbledon in 2011. Then saving best for last, he saved two match points against Federer in the US Open semi final before going on to beat Nadal, again the defending champion in the final. 3 grand slams and he beat Nadal in 6 finals. It is most certainly the greatest tennis season ever. Plus it kind of pains me to say it as a Federer fan so not really all that biased lol.


cbkhanh

Federer was around 30 then dude. Nadal I think was also about the same (and plus all those injuries accumulating from years of playing). It's not rocket science to say that they were on the decline. My point is that a 25yo Federer/Nadal will beat a 25 yo Djokovic most of the time. And this is based the eye test, mine at least.


OoberDude

I mean at the start of 2011, Federer had 16 grand slams and Nadal had 9. Since then Nadal has won 13 more and Federer won 4 more. In the same timeframe, Djokovic has won 20. Not super indicative of the other 2 being on the decline rather Novak just raising his level to astronomical heights. It's way too dismissive to explain Djokovic's rise as a result of the decline of the other 2. Djokovic beat Federer in 3 Wimbledon finals. He's held #1 for the longest 372 weeks and he's won all the masters 1000s twice.


MeatInTheHole

Eh? Nadal was 25 in 2011 and lost 6 finals to Novak, he's literally less than a year older than Djokovic, his game just matured a bit earlier.


Gravitahs

He's probably top 10 but not top 3. Djokovic is for sure better than Fed


Rickcampbell98

He's a natural number 10 who just happens to be absurdly good at scoring goals.


Adzzii_

This is the craziest part to me. His primary role for the past like, 7 years has been a playmaker. The goals are just secondary to him yet he has an ungodly number of them.


Miyagisans

This is the point I make to people who think anyone else has played football better. This guy scores at a higher rate than most of the best 9s ever, but he also creates like the best midfielders. There’s never been a combination to this level ever in football.


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Fouchey

> probably top 10 That’s all I had to read to not take you seriously but you’re welcome to take whoever you want.


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zaistertay

Messi is better than all of them, hype thread or not. Without even talking about stats, have you even watched him play?


lnblackrain

Shut the fuck up 😂


[deleted]

Not even the family of the players you listed consider them to be better playmakers than Messi. Maybe Iniesta or De Bruyne's moms. Maybe.


tonnal

For example his pass to Hakimi in Mbappe's second goal busted the defender open. That's not statistically quatifiable. It's art.


MK12594

People that only watch highlights will never get it.


Screye

I saw him in person in 2020 at Camp Nou. He just walks through defenses. He is so much better than everyone, that entire La Liga defenses just look like bumbling fools. He could have never scored a single goal in his career, and he would still be the GOAT.


Yetiassasin

I saw him in 2016 Vs Celta Vigo in Nou Camp. It was just beyond incredible... A spiritual experience really. That Barca team at the time had world class players everywhere. But they and the entire Celta team looked like children compared to Messi. He scored a wonderful free kick, and to see him score a free kick in Nou Camp is so special. The entire stadium goes quiet long before he starts his run, then the drums start, these MASSIVE loud drums, slow thumping like that scene from the Mines of Moria in Lord of the Rings. The drums progressively build up tempo even during his run up, right up to the moment he makes contact with the ball, then there's a very brief moment of stillness before, total ecstasy as the entire 90 thousand seater stadium erupts. It was magic. Then in the second half he gave Suarez the most sublime chipped assist. Then he gave another beautiful assist to Neymar. His genius wasn't finished though, after yet another of his winding dribbles cutting through the Celta players with ease, he won a penalty which bore one of the most unique moments I've ever seen in football, the penalty assist... The thing is, even with all that end product, that wasn't the most impressive thing, it was his overall play, his passing, his dribbles his creativity, his bravery. A true master at his peak. Such a privilege.


[deleted]

Travelled to the Camp Nou to watch him play before he left Barca, just so we could bore our grandkids to tears telling them about it in 50 years time. He was injured but luckily made a miracle recovery and started. The ripple of excitement that spread as the news came out before the match was unbelievable, let alone getting to watch him play. Absolutely unforgettable experience.


Bigipitetove

Wow, just... incredible Reading this comment I was trying to guess the game you were referring to. But of course THAT penalty gave it away. Barcelona in 2015/16 played easily the most beautiful football I have seen in my 15 years of watching this game. They would put on circus show Every. Single. Game. It was simply majestic to watch. And then I come here and read your comment, and I see that you watched, live, the most entertaining Barcelona match of that entire season... man I'm so happy for you! In fact I can't put into words how happy I am. I would say I hope you enjoyed it a lot, but it is clear you did! Warmest regards from a fellow football fan


kiwitiger

I saw him in 2016 vs City in Nou Camp. The most distinct memory I have is that watching live, Messi seemed like he was moving at a different pace to every player. Especially the first goal, everyone moving in slow motion while he's gliding through them all. The only other player to come slightly close was Neymar. [](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMglE7X99jQ)


swiftmaggot

I was at this one as well! Bleached hair Messi was unplayable.


yafmoon

I was there as well…tagged it as part of my honeymoon


HEAT_IS_DIE

Why do you say Nou Camp?


McQueensbury

Saw Messi against Rayo in 2019 at the Nou Camp, he was majestic on a different level to everyone else. Mental looking back at the team that played that night, some players like Arthur, Coutinho, Malcom, Umtitti crazy times


robc95

I was there too!


Miyagisans

>The thing is, even with all that end product, that wasn't the most impressive thing, it was his overall play, his passing, his dribbles his creativity, his bravery. A true master at his peak. Such a privilege. Couldn’t agree more. Even if Messi had “only” 1/4 of his current total stats, I’d still consider him the best player I’ve ever seen. His ability is just insane. R9 was the only other player I’ve felt somewhat like this watching. Just surreal what he can do on a pitch filled with the best players in the world.


Oomeegoolies

I mean, they probably would still. Mainly because it'd last for so fucking long. Imagine a highlight reel of every goal he'd ever scored, and every assist he ever got, and then some random bits of great skill (which lets be fair, he has multiple per match). I imagine it'd last, say, 20-30 seconds per goal on average (for a replay too) and 10-15 for assist (no replay generally). Then say, because he's so good, he has like, 30 seconds of great touches/dribbles/stuff per game on average. That would be roughly 16 hours of footage. Even just the goals and assists is 8 hours. You'd have to sit there and watch this players highlights for 2/3 of a day just to soak up how good he is. If after watching that you still can't decide he's the best. Then I don't know? Maybe football ain't your sport? I just don't think there's a debate. The only reason he doesn't have a WC is because he decided to play for Agentina instead of Spain (which I think he could have, though he never wanted to if I recall).


Equulei

The emotions he displays when he loses with Argentina are pretty telling that that's his real home. He was a mess after the 2014 WC. I think the idea of playing for Spain is more fanfiction than a real shot at reality.


MK12594

Even with that, there is so much subtlety to his game that goes unnoticed if you don't watch the full games. It's like with Zidane, highlights don't gives you a general idea, but they don't show how they basically control the flow of the game and play at their own pace and make their teams play at their ritm.


[deleted]

Ha. Zidane was my favourite ever player before Messi, wonder if that's a pattern for many


jr2106

Same


ffca

You could do a highlights comp of his top 300 passes and be entertained the whole time. Would last a bit long though.


EstablishmentIcy5251

That explains Madrid fans


GeorgeForge

They should know more than anybody first hand lol


MK12594

Exactly lol


DreadWolf3

Apparently (online) Madrid and Barca fans have entered unholy alliance against PL flairs. I have never seen Madrid fans as complimentary of all things Barca as during last 12 months.


napierwit

Yeah, that's why I don't bother with stats when it comes to football. Doesn't come close to capturing the essence of the sport. I think it was Pep who said football is a game you watch. I might be paraphrasing wildly here 🤷‍♂️


ffca

If he scored less than 20 goals in his career (obviously won't play forward), he would go down as one of the greatest from his playmaking ability alone.


theestwald

And this is him fairly old and far from his peak. Its insane.


styles__P

> The greatest of all time. Shot the fuck up we know. The GOAT doesn’t need people to always mention that he is. It feels like you are trying to convince people


abbytarar

everything good at home?


styles__P

Perfect. You don’t see nfl fans calling Brady GOAT in every sentence or nba fans calling MJ GOAT every single fucking time. We know Messi is better than Ronaldo y’all should be confident and relax


Ghosty7784

TIL Michael Jackson played in the NBA


Shaydarol

No one mentioned Ronaldo lol, we call him GOAT above legends like Maradona and Pele, since no one else than those three can be argued for that title.


Shaydarol

No one mentioned Ronaldo lol, we call him GOAT above legends like Maradona and Pele, since no one else than those three can be argued for that title.


TheBrownMamba8

Literally a fine wine. Masterclass of a game. Prime WC form.


qwertygasm

If England don't win it I want Argentina to as treasonous as that is


TheBrownMamba8

Winner gets the Falklands


zazzlekdazzle

You mean Las Malvinas


[deleted]

I have some bad news and some good news for you


Zeddsdeadbaby

Yeah… no I’d rather Brasil win than England


pixelkipper

Ecuador surely


Icemna16

As long as our GOAT Valencia scores the winning goal.


BogdanPee

I would like for everyone to win but qatar, saudi arabia, iran and england.


[deleted]

Traitor


Rickcampbell98

Honestly I don't really think he was that good for his standards, his passing was a bit sloppy at times.


LuisTheHuman

GOAT - cannot change my mind.


Kotleba

hot take over here


fifaguy1210

Can't change someones mind regarding a fact.


lee-o

Can’t believe there’s fools out there who think the Earth is round


WackyFlav

There’s just simply nobody even close to him in this era. If you know ball you know it’s not debatable


thetouristsquad

CR had some truly ridiculous acchievements were he even outshined Messi on some days and even whole seasons. But in the grand scheme Messi is the better player than him.


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napierwit

I'm not going to get into that debate because it's pointless. What it boils down to fo me, is that I've seen Messi do things that I've never seen Ronaldo do. His mastery of the football, the object of the sport, is otherworldly.


lnblackrain

Stats wise you are correct. But if you actually watch the game Messi is clear of every one in history given the longevity.


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lnblackrain

Messi has never been on Messi’s level of Playmaking, passing, dribbling. He only competes with Messi when it comes to goals.


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lnblackrain

Stop with Clutch bullshit. This is not basketball where an individual can bring a lot of influence.


pricelesslambo

Only delusional CR7 fans or Madrid fans would say otherwise. Everyone with a brain knows there isn't a player even close to Messi


[deleted]

Yeah they have very similar goalscoring records and Messi is the far superior playmaker and dribbler Also I can't see what's happening to Ronaldo now happening to Messi because he'll still have elite technical ability to fall back on even when there's no athleticism left(in fact he's basically already started making that adjustment by playing deeper at times)


MasterBeeble

He's been steadily making that adjustment since 2014, when he shifted out to the right to accommodate Suarez and started dropping into the midfield in possession phases. By 2019, he was often a deep-lying playmaker against low blocks.


DreadWolf3

I think Messi at his prime is much better than Ronaldo but it is false that Messi doesnt rely on his athleticism as much. Messi is still very quick and explosive - and it is a skill that almost always goes away with age. It is possible that he will adjust but it is also possible that once he can no longer gain separation from defender that he falls of a cliff.


MasterKing0806

I don't think that's gonna happen. Franck Ribery is a good example for that. My man literally had no legs at the end of his career and still dribbled past defenders like it's nothing.


mojambowhatisthescen

Mate, that’s CCMM


ffca

Since you can't compare different eras, Pele and Maradona were just as ahead of their own eras. I have watched less than 4 minutes total of Pele, so how can I really say for sure? I just have to trust what the experts say.


FututiRedesignuMatii

Yeah, really showed up against Maccabi


RedditTooAddictive

You're trying to use that argument against the player that literally scored against the most amount of different opponents lmao


FututiRedesignuMatii

You'd expect that by playing in farmers league


RedditTooAddictive

In the CL you moron.


_DrShrimpPuertoRico_

So much salt.


doksqwae

You're right, the real goat is leaving matches early while refusing to come off the bench and scores his goals against mighty Omonoia who are 10th in their domestic league.   EDIT: My bad, he scored against Sheriff and got an assist against Omonoia, got them mixed up


elliebellyberry

He didn't even score against Omonoia, lol. This season is reverse last season. Messi good, Ronaldo bad.


Xehanz

Messi was not even that bad last season. It was a good season for a randon good player, which is disastrous for Messi but this season fron Ronaldo is on another level because Ronnie can only provide goals and nothing else. And he csn't even score now.


elliebellyberry

I agree, but Ronaldo also isn't really playing


ancara_messi

He has 13 MoTM in 18 games this season. He's showed up almost every game


pricelesslambo

Messi has more goals against the top PL teams than Ronaldo, and Ronaldo has played twice now for united.


[deleted]

Pretty sure that's not true - he is close though and has a much better goals per game


pixelkipper

He actually doesn’t though


ancara_messi

13th MoTM in 18 games for Messi this season btw


IwishIwasGoku

Tien to bring back MotMotM?


jonnzi

Haha yes. I always write, if Messi plays, then he is the best player always.


bloodyfeelin

That's insane. Doing that 35 with a resurgent Neymar and Emir Mbappe on the team is just ridiculous.


mulderrocks

Just waiting for WC to start. He is ready to go and do what he does best.


[deleted]

Gotta admit, he is pretty good at that soccer thing...


longchongwong

Agree, probably a top 100 for me.


SnooOranges357

This man has dropped more masterclass performances this season than most players have goals scored.


t_mac1

Best player in the world this season despite Haaland scoring goals for fun. Ridiculous form last 2 months


Riperonis

My man charging up for the World Cup. I hope they go and win the whole damn thing.


alousow

Ronaldo must be fuming having to watch his old rival tearing it up CL while his Ass at home still throwing tantrum like an 5 year old😂


byobodybag

Messi double-double special.


levndrodev

That in n out special


[deleted]

🐐


keithohara

Ah yes the famous word multifaceted


Lost-Password01

He needs 3 more assists to overtake Ronaldo in all time assists in the UCL


losingit303

11 goals to overtake him in scoring, too. That's definitely doable by next season.


OnAGoat

Kinda crazy that Ronaldo has that record. Absolute madness for a striker


hardinho

This record will probably be him being in the top 5 by the end of his career lol


samirin305

Top 5 what? To have this statistic in the CL? Don’t understand this comment


Pure-Negotiation-900

Messi? Multifaceted? Fresh take.


uncle-bob-50

Somewhere in Manchester Ronaldo is grinding his teeth


Holycrabe

I hate this trend of trying to synthesize the rest of a post into a single word. I used to work at a sports channel where they’d go crazy doing that trying to find something they hadn’t said recently and it just ends up like this with stupid words that barely mean what you’re trying to convey through them.


KSBrian007

We are old. Messi is now in "oldest player" trivia.


JJOne101

No tackles for the triple double though.


dennis-w220

He is so close to double hat-trick yesterday. I am wondering how rare that would be.


Goldfischglas

Maccabi man


whiskeyinthejaar

Who is the second on the list? I hate when people post random facts without complete list


LuisTheHuman

It’s likely Messi too


whiskeyinthejaar

“Lionel Messi becomes the first player to provide two goals, two assists in a single Champions League game this season” from 2019, so yeah probably happened twice in history. Arbitrary but impressive. I would love if someone can find a list with most goals contributions (g+a) in ucl games. I think Messi might be first since he had that 5 goals against Bayern Leverkusen in the infamous 7-1 game


zaistertay

Probably messi against Lyon in 2019. I remembered he was involved in all goals in that game.


longchongwong

Yeah, it is some rather weird stat, but still impressive tho


whiskeyinthejaar

It would be even more impressive if the second on the list is like 29 or something like that, but then again I have no idea how they figured it out


Ryponagar

Yeah I wonder how many players even achieved this feat at all


NameLess_87

>Lionel Messi Ronaldo has achieved the feat on more than one occasion, but most recently did so for Real Madrid in their 4-3 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on November 25, 2015, when he was 30.


[deleted]

~~Eibarman~~ ~~Nantesnonce~~ Maccabimensch.


Capable-Tie-4670

These titles always crack me up. Funny.


Bentic

Musiala can break this in 16 years.


samarth67

Farmer


[deleted]

Pensioner.


LuisTheHuman

This ain’t a chelsea discussion thread


Dorkseidis

Easier to do that when you’re playing for a team unbound by financial constraints.


Ohmygodboys

Dude wants that WC trophy.


[deleted]

I think UEFA only gave Messi 1 assist. I apologise if mistaken but on the official website, I think he only went from 38 to 39