Lionel Messi - v7

[Tackle]

Not sure what he did today. Did he even dribble past one Real player? Terrible match. Messi we know in big games.

Odd that Barcelona fans have become so accustomed to Messi putting up average performances in big matches we get on our knees and lick his boots every time he just puts the bare amount of effort in.

That is the new standard for Leo. As long as he is moves about the pitch a bit and looks like he isn't totally disinterested we praise him.

Just look at the reactions here after the PSG tie. One golazo, one penalty scored, one crucial penalty missed and everyone was in this thread raving about how "at least he tried" and "wasn't as bad as he was against Bayern or Roma." In reality he was hardly great across the two ties, but that's just how low the bar is set these days after years of humiliation.

 

[malvolio]

Odd that Barcelona fans have become so accustomed to Messi putting up average performances in big matches we get on our knees and lick his boots every time he just puts the bare amount of effort in.

That is the new standard for Leo. As long as he is moves about the pitch a bit and looks like he isn't totally disinterested we praise him.

Just look at the reactions here after the PSG tie. One golazo, one penalty scored, one crucial penalty missed and everyone was in this thread raving about how "at least he tried" and "wasn't as bad as he was against Bayern or Roma." In reality he was hardly great across the two ties, but that's just how low the bar is set these days after years of humiliation.

Crucial my ass. Stop with the lying you buffoon. He does what is needed of him these days. Considering his age and squad he has to play with, he is doing very well. We wouldn't even be in contention without his exploits in 2021. Yeah, not a good game, but not an abysmal one either.

 

[serghei]

Dreadful game. The thing is he's old, and is obviously past his prime by a good amount of years. It is easier to do it vs Granada than vs likes of Madrid and PSG. The Messi that took games like these and turned them on their head is gone.

 

[Jadentheman]

yeah, ucl finals 10 years ago maybe. leo retired as a big game player in 2015 with a very brief return to form in 2019

since then hes been shit against all top teams and has never managed to pull a win when it mattered for either barcelona or argentina

he has been abysmal and ineffective against top opposition for like 6 years straight now. name another all time great who has been hammered over and over and over like messi has with barcelona. i doubt there is anyone.

imagine losing the league as messi to this real side WITHOUT CR for 2 years in a row lol.

you guys come here with your pants in a mess whenever messi scores goals vs small teams. and yet on aggregate this year he has been on the pitch for the entire game for: no wins against atleti, athleti bilbao in the super cup, 5-2 on aggregate against real, 5-2 on aggregate against psg. failure after failure. cant even hit free kicks anymore either.

also imagine being barcelonas all time best player even as real goes on their best CL winning run since the freaking 1950s

meh. very lacklustre stuff from messi since 2015

It's doesn't matter 2015 was one of his greatest seasons ever. And I'm ok with him being inconsistent after delivering the world that season performance. You only see such a thing every 20-30 years

 

[khaled_a_d]

Messi at 33 going 34 can't win a big game by himself or without serious help from the attack, we should know this by now. tbh I don't think anyone in the history really did that.
Through last 4 seasons, his best help in attack was overweight Suarez. Fati first month this year would beat that if it wasn't for small sample size.

If you judge him based on that perspective, I think it was a decent game.

 

[Blaugrana Bull]

0 heart. Unfortunately.

 

[Rassvet]

imagine having delusional fans who think youre the best player in the world when:
1) youre out of the biggest club competition (CL) in the round of 16
2) youre not first in the league and will very likely lose it to a team that finished 4th in their CL group.
3) youre not even the leading golden boot contender

newsflash: that aint being the best.

I agree but this is the Messi thread, not the Ronaldo one.

 

[Tackle]

Crucial my ass. Stop with the lying you buffoon. He does what is needed of him these days. Considering his age and squad he has to play with, he is doing very well. We wouldn't even be in contention without his exploits in 2021. Yeah, not a good game, but not an abysmal one either.

He is still far and away our best player, sure. Team around him isn't very good either. All true, but when you're getting paid 100m you have an obligation to regularly make the difference in these kinds of matches.

Should drop his wages on his next contract substantially to reflect his age and current ability, otherwise he still should be held to the same standards. Ridiculously high wages demand ridiculously good performances.

 

[Bobo32]

Dreadful game. The thing is he's old, and is obviously past his prime by a good amount of years. It is easier to do it vs Granada than vs likes of Madrid and PSG. The Messi that took games like these and turned them on their head is gone.

He is getting higher and higher in his error%, turning over more and more balls, and in worse spots. At his best he rarely did that, but he was the one in the team playing with some risk and usually made up for it by scoring or assisting.

Nowadays, playing with two pretty worthless players with even higher error% beside him, but without anything to offer for it, and a midfield behind that is maybe not blatantly giving the ball away so much, but is a bit slower and more inefficient than previous midfields, giving the ball to the attack in worse positions, Messi too can be questioned. He doesn't offer so much in defense or in attacking movements, and as the rest of the team is setup the way it is, his genious isn't really being utilized.

It's not very rare anymore for him to have a negative influence on the game. Of course he is still the best player in the world, and given the right role and the right players around him he would still be unquestionable, and playing a lot better. He still scored more goals than #2-#5 in the team did combined, and also assisted the most. A shame that his carreer is ending this way, since 2012 or so.

 

[BarcaOG]

It's doesn't matter 2015 was one of his greatest seasons ever. And I'm ok with him being inconsistent after delivering the world that season performance. You only see such a thing every 20-30 years

are you kidding? this is 2021 and messi is still in this team. by your logic we might as well resign xavi iniesta puyol and ronaldinho just because they had great seasons 15 years ago.

we are also paying leo 500 mil for this btw. and its bankrupting the club. so yeah, i expect better in important matches and he has been shit for YEARS

 

[BarcaOG]

I agree but this is the Messi thread, not the Ronaldo one.

? these apply to CR as well you buffoon. neither messi nor CR are the best anymore.

some members here think its still 2011-12 or something lol while messi has shit the bed year after year after year after year for barca and argentina when we needed to win important matches or ties

 

[Jadentheman]

are you kidding? this is 2021 and messi is still in this team. by your logic we might as well resign xavi iniesta puyol and ronaldinho just because they had great seasons 15 years ago.

we are also paying leo 500 mil for this btw. and its bankrupting the club. so yeah, i expect better in important matches and he has been shit for YEARS

I mean if they are still fit to play they can be good enough to walk onto this team and get at least sub roles. They may not be athletic or have the drive but they still have far more talent than majority of these professonials on their foot.

500mil is too much though that I agree with.

 

[Messigician]

Messi without Xavi, Iniesta, Neymar = GOAT

Messi without Valverde = Clasico WOAT

Cristiano Ronaldo has the same amount of El Clasico goals as Lionel Messi since he left Real Madrid 3 seasons ago.

 

[Rassvet]

He needed a striker ahead of him or at least someone making runs. I just rewatched his highlights and so much of it was him trying to dribble or play 1-2s through everyone which hasn't worked against good teams in a long time.

 

[Rassvet]

Messi without Xavi, Iniesta, Neymar = GOAT

Messi without Valverde = Clasico WOAT

Cristiano Ronaldo has the same amount of El Clasico goals as Lionel Messi since he left Real Madrid 3 seasons ago.

He shouldn't have let Suarez take that pen in 2019