Oh there’s no question in my mind. His dribbling from 06-15 was alien tier. It’s not even a third as good as it used to be these days…in his heyday his acceleration with the ball was THE best in the world.
Maradona was a more tricky and inventive dribbler but prime Messi was just brutal at efficiency and acceleration.
I rate Maradona as the slightly better passer though (better cross and better volley passes). Messi’s through balls are a bit better (the weight on them is otherworldly)
Yeah I would agree with most of that, though Maradona was also a master of the through ball.
Messi just had such tight control in his prime and the way the ball was glued to his feet, like you say his acceleration - how quick he got from a standing start. But his passing is otherwordly too.
Maradona is a bit flashier and more what someone new to the game would look for more. They're both footballers' footballers but I think Messi would be appreciated by actual footballers a teensy bit more than Maradona.
But to me they're the two best players ever and absolute geniuses for which words don't do justice (as footballers).
We have never seen such a combination of dribbling, passing, close control, finishing, goalscoring, free-kick taking and football IQ as Messi. Maradona has all of that too except the goalscoring (though it's a bit unfair as he played in an extremely defensive Serie A and a less goal-centric era). I think if Maradona played in this era he'd score loads of goals too and he and Messi would be basically inseparable.
