It's like I keep saying. Claiming this current version of Messi is an amazing player is actually an ironic disservice to the years in which he actually was an amazing player.
I think people build a false reality regarding Messi. I don't know exactly when it was but I started hearing some idiotic things like Messi would be able to move into Xavi role and play until 40. Like it was a time I think back in 2016 or so, when those sort of idiotic things started to circulate in the media. I remember being hilariously amused by that.
I mean what the fuck? This is disrespect not only to former Messi, but Xavi as well. People have no idea about the real profile of Messi and the profile of Xavi. And why neither of the two would be able to perform the role of the other. Look at Messi. When he looses a ball in a deep positions, he acts as if he lost it in attack. Only "minor" difference is that in attack when he loses a ball, there are 8-10 players behind him, and in deeper positions when he loses the ball there are 2-4 players (especially when fullbacks push up). I mean that alone completely changes how you play.
Seriously, how could anyone think Messi could play like Xavi, when Xavi's no1 skill, which is elite and non-stop movement, is Messi's worst? Xavi was a midfield dynamo. Everyone around him that had the ball could've passed to him because Xavi never hid behind anyone. He moved so much that he was impossible to lock down or cover. Messi is the total opposite. Even when the play is near him you see him walking uninterested a lot.
It doesn't matter if Messi likes this or that. Every role comes with functions and responsabilities. It doesn't matter what you like. If you play here, you need X or Y. If you are not wiling to perform well in those areas, you can't play there.
Here is Messi playing in areas his game is not equipped to allow him to perform well in. Every time Messi is played deep and players make runs involves a risk. Because if the ball is lost, or the pass fails, the players who make runs will be out of position. And Messi will be in a deeper area where he will need to perform the role those players can't anymore (due to making runs). And he will just not do it. And this is why the opponent easily plays directly on our backline. Because of idiotic permutations of positions to allow Messi his famous "free" role. There's no such thing as a free role.
