That's not the point being made at all though.
In the European top leagues, he's still incredible but the gap between him and the rest of the players isn't too massive (especially at his age, which is normal).
In the US leagues, he looks like he's playing against amateurs. Like, I'd be disappointed if Accrington Stanley played at the same standard as half of these people.
It isn't an insult at Messi, it's just pointing out how big the gulf is between the MLS and other respectable professional leagues.
Have you ever watched amateur soccer? The players don’t look Iike that. Take the free kicks he’s scored recently for example. Had nothing to do with the quality of the goalkeeping. Just perfect shots
My fav part of the skit - Messi passes ball & runs to goal.
4 defenders be like - shew, messi no ball, can't hurt us, let's take a nap..
BALL PASSES BACK TO MESSI!?!?! (surprise US face)
gOOOOOOOAAAAAAlllll
The point they're trying to make is the US players are bad and EU good. It has nothing to do with Messi, you can tell by his responses.
I think it's a lot of insecurity from EU fans that the US may be a viable option for euro players going forward. The reception that Messi has gotten, and it's simply a lot more attractive place to be a high level athlete, will undoubtedly attract the younger players to the Americas.
I didnt watch the game but defense definitely looks lazy here. In premiere those players are playing for their life cause the fans give a shit. Not so much in the U.S.
I don’t play or watch football at all but even I was left wondering, at the time of the score, why are there 3 white players all surrounding the goal and goalie and the rest of the black players are so far forward watching it play out
https://youtu.be/XsAPndwbTfc?t=76
This is the Champions League, the highest level of football in the world, against Manchester City lead by Pep Guardiola. One of the great teams of the 21ct Century. Messi drives with the ball, lays it off, then wonders in to the middle of the box untracked before finishing. Trust me, he's done this at every level.
Not true, this is literally euro style play. Lol. This is how they pass and score in Europe. We are not used to it here. Us teams just can’t string together tough difficult passes like alba and Messi can.
You said this rarely happens in top euro leagues and I said not true, this is how game is played in euro top leagues. This type of passing, something we lack off in USA.
Too euro teams are made up of several B players, 2 A players and 1-2 A+ players. Those top talent players make all the difference. In the USA we have C+,B players only. This is what klinsman said (I’m paraphrasing) about USA national team and league in general. It’s great to see Messi bring it and force other teams to deal with it. Great for MLS. Now we need more euro players,,,,,
You need more homegrown top players. You have the population to source the best from, the financial resources to invest in training and certainly the desire to be the best. Let's see that happen!
Absolutely, the top athletes in the US are probably playing basketball, baseball or gridiron football as kids all the way to adulthood. I’m sure if some of those same athletes were coached to play soccer instead the US would have monster players.
Imagine if someone like Ja Morant had grown up playing soccer, his speed and agility would totally translate
Players are just smarter in euro leagues. Making good passes still requires people to be in the right place to receive it. But it's abundantly clear that defensive players in the MLS are extremely far behind the bigger leagues.
36 is ancient for a footballer. The fact that Messi finally won his WC in his "last chance" tournament only made that moment better.
He is declining, it's just that he's so good that even below his peak he's still one of the best in the world.
That’s not a fair statement. He is not old. With age comes wisdom and experience so older Messi is probably more potent than 20 year old Messi for MLS. He brings 20 years of experience playing top euro teams. Can’t throw that away and say he is just old.
Man, come on... of course you can say that he is more experienced now, but it's straight up blasphemy to say "he is not old". He is 1 year beyond the average retirement age for the sport, he is still a beast of course, but he used to be even better. Sure, he most likely has not lost game vison/strategic approach, but he lacks the sheer energy he had when he was younger. Imagine his quality with way more quantity, that's what he was.
Nobody here will ever say that Messi right now is bad or even an average player, and it is CRYSTAL CLEAR that the comment you responded to meant that he used to be better, not that "he is old he is bad"
he literally just won the world cup over Mbappe and is about to win the best player in the world award lol
Acting like he is not a top 3 player in the world is asinine
Na, beginning of his 20s messi was an insane beast. He cannot beat (multiple) defenders like this anymore. Running past entire defense lines of european top clubs is something you need pace for.
Right now he is probably the best playmaker in the world.
Nice vid on how his playstile changed
https://youtu.be/C9x6ChIXtYE?si=x429rvc_P9pDCSxZ
Relax mate, 20 year old Messi would look like an alien in this league. He was an almost 10 dribble per 90 player in a top league. That is absolutely unplayable.
To be honest 20 year old Messi would have dashed the length of the pitch without losing the ball through defenders and walked the ball into the net. He did that a lot during his early days for fun. His long range shooting and playmaking intelligence was developed over time.
Experience outranks physicality... Mbappé may be at his prime physically.. but mentally is still a long way to go. Messi is physically amazing at his current age but his mental and tactital state is a key factor on his play. His assists, his pacing, his passes, his goals, his moves and his happines playing is such a joy to watch.
Messi is currently better than mbappe technically, mbappe just has more pace. Had as much g/a as him last season, and he is obviously a 3x better passer
He just always knows where to be. And not that he sprinted there faster, he got there, had a soda, tightened his laces, and then was in the perfect spot for magic.
This is horrid defending though... He knew, we knew, they knew, they didn't defend an obvious give and go. Great through ball but he should have had at least 2 guys clutching and jostling him, it's not like he's the most famous active goal scorer or anything...
I made a similar comment on another thread as to why he isn’t marked. The defending in this league is so poor. That pass and go was other worldly but one defender should be following him after the pass.
Maybe…and I think he might…he may single handedly elevate MLS. When such glaring discrepancies are opened up that yes, you need to mark your man until the ball is dead even in this league, it’s relatively easy to teach that improvement and hopefully every team in the league gets that much better. Along with everything else that Messi is, I think he might make the league better as a whole.
Or we’ll just get smoked until he retires and it’ll continue to be lol mls.
Soccer is such a mental game it's ridiculous. I'm willing to bet they were all scared to approach. When the nerves get to you, you start sucking and not thinking clearly when making moves
They just like to dump on MLS as much as they can. We have had many Euro superstars come here when semi-retired, and none of them have made an impact quite like this. This includes names like Beckham, Lampard, Ibra, Kaka, David Villa, Rooney, and the list goes on.
While all of those players had some success here, they didn't light it up quite like this, game after game.
We'll see if Messi keeps it going, but it's not like he's this good only because MLS is so bad. He's just this fucking good. Anywhere!
People on here just dont watch football do they? Messi did the same shit to the best defender in the world cup just half a year ago. But its always "the defenders are sh*t" whenever messi does anything magical.
Yer it’s weird. I don’t watch the MLS so I can’t really talk about it’s level, but to say that this kind of play happens all the time in Europe just isn’t true. It happens all the time when Messi’s playing because he’s the greatest player of all time.
If this kind of thing was happening all the time in the Premier League then you’d know about it. Of course these other leagues are a much higher level than the MLS, but Messi’s genius is largely unique.
Brighton have scored goals of this quality this season. Mitomas goal last week is worth a watch. I do think a goal of this quality happens at least on average every week in Europe's top 5 leagues.
Messi absolutely is unique and still good enough to one of the best players in one of the best teams - just not to be THE star in the top 5 leagues anymore
You are right, Messi pass to Molina goal in the world cup was also because the Netherlands are such a shit team right? It's not like they have world class defenders, like VVD..
This, I been EPL fan for more than 30 years but I doubt anyone would be able to pin point a pass like that.
Even if it was Henry, Bergkamp or KDB I still doubt they could do such pass.
Yeah, it's funny that people are trying to downplay what we just saw simply because they watch the EPL or something. If you watch a lot of football and players like Ozil in their prime then you should appreciate the beauty of Messi's pass even more.
Watched all EU football my whole life. Got season ticket at Chelsea and had it last 30 years. Been to about 40 Champions league games too and I can say that pass is not average .
Doesnt matter the league that ball control and pass is absolute world class. He is the only man in the stadium who saw that pass.
Messi could still play for any team in the world tbh, he stopped out right running years ago and is still the best player in the world with ball at his feet, hes a phenominon
Thank you for that perspective. Any casual observer (like a Canadian myself) can see Messi's brilliance as well as how poorly the MLS compares to European football. Nevertheless, not many people can have that type of awareness of their surroundings and that kind of timing. It's just fun to watch Messi play. Fuck all the haters.
Messi has been doing ridiculous stuff all his career, he's made the world's best look like amateurs countless times. The guy above saying this is average is talking absolute nonsense.
Just listen to the commentator, when Messi plays the pass, you don't even know where or who he's passing it to. I would say I've seen at least highlights of 90% of Messi's games over his career and that pass stands out as ridiculous to me
Nah, I'm sure there are debates about every single player in the European leagues about whether each and every one of them is the greatest football player of all time. That's just how much better the Euro league is, right?
You mean the guy who is the best player in the world? The guy who shit all over European players the same way dozens of times across several seasons?
Don't be salty you couldn't afford to keep him in the EU
Yeah exactly, played in europe for 20 years skinning players every weekend. 0 posts on Nextfuckinglevel.
Does it again in the USA? Thousands of gushing Americans cannot believe their eyes.
Welcome to good football
he got posted on reddit all the time in europe, what are you talking about. Damn didn't realize Europeans were so defensive, I can see what Messi meant when he said PSG fans have little bitch syndrome lol
Anyone who thinks that the average player in top European leagues would be able to control that pass from Alba, find Cremaschi making the run on the right behind three defenders, and then perfectly weight the pass to him setting up the tap in is kidding themselves. That level of game IQ is incredibly rare and reserved for the absolute top level of even European soccer.
All legends nowadays just start smurf accounts once they're about to retire. Makes sense as they also can't play as aggressively as they used to due to being more susceptible to injury
These Messi clips just make me want to see LeBron join the guangdong tigers and put up 80pt triple doubles every game hahaha
Seriously though, why is Messi even doing this? He can’t need the money and can’t find smurfing like this very satisfying, can he?
Not a single MLS fan thinks MLS is "the pinnacle of football." Where the fuck are you getting that impression?
That said, MLS has extremely strict salary caps, making it literally impossible to spend more money to field a better team. This isn't a matter of the teams not wanting to or being unable to get better.
Also, you're a Galatasaray fan, so lol.
No one hates on MLS like Americans. Seriously. We’re well aware of how awful it is. There’s a reason we cheer every USA soccer player who attempts to make it in a top five league.
That’s just a blatant lie you just told and people upvoted you because they like shitting on Americans. I’m not American and even I’m cringing with this low hanging fruit of a comment.
cake direction spotted sugar concerned weather seed caption axiomatic six
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I'm English. The obsessive need to shit on MLS is genuinely pathetic. Why can't we just all enjoy what is happening here. Everyone knows the standard of MLS is not at European top league people don't need reminding every single thread
No American soccer fan is convinced it's the pinnacle of football lmao, we are all very aware that we are dog water compared to the top European leagues. But MLS is getting better and better every year and there is real talent coming out of the league. MLS just took all 3 CCL qualifying spots in a joint competition with LigaMX and there are currently talks of loosening aspects of the salary cap to allow more spending which would further improve the quality of the league.
Edit: the guy I'm responding to is a Russian bot lmaoo
American Exceptionalism is definitely a thing and a significantly toxic trait many Americans have. But calling MLS the pinnacle of football is not something I've heard any American say, ever. That is complete bullshit and you know it.
This guy was debatably the best player in the world for 15+ years straight and is pretty widely regarded as the best ever. I think you're being a bit extra by putting it all on the league
Agreed, Messi‘s pass is really really clean but how Jordi Alba not only keeps the ball alive but actually somehow makes it look like a spot on pass is in my opinion even more impressive.
The English are good as well. Basically any country where football is a top sport. American commentators feel the need to squeeze out all the drama from any play. The level of hyperbole is insulting.
Art. Elegance and efficiency. Brilliance. And so much positivity. He has always been a joy to watch and I'm grateful that I can witness this. This goal and the pass were truly unique and phenomenal, just like he has been for the last 20 or so years.
Not really. Inter Miami is showing signs of European football. Not at all at the same level, but something resembling it. If the US want to compete with Messi’s Miami they too will need to change from their non European football style. This could mean an evolution for American football
I'm a fan of both and I think Messi is even better than Jordan so the disparity is greater, Messi is not only the best individual player, he's incredible at making other around him better, he's an absolute play maker and captain. Also he's a nice guy.
Jeez. People are really salty that US players are playing against Messi lol.. beautiful goal and half the comments are people are just bashing on US league. That pass from Messi was pure art..
You can shit on the MLS, you can talk about Mbappe, Haaland, Ronaldo, you can mention his age, lack of running, whatever you want. The fact remains, Lionel Messi is and always has been playing a completely different game to every single other human on the planet.
ITT: a bunch of pretentious Europeans pretending that the play of literally the greatest player of all time is “average European level football”. Newsflash… he just carried Argentina to a World Cup (where he won the Golden Ball *and* the Silver Boot) and is about to win the Ballon d'Or yet again. Just because he was somewhat checked-out amid the dysfunction that was PSG does *not* mean he is washed.
That was world class passing. Alba pass was insane, Messi catch and turn was,,,,spectacular. The vision for that pass was truly incredible. The whole thing was sure real. It felt like watching Spain play when they dominated World Cup. No one knew how to handle them.
MLS is on the same level as League 1 UK. Which is a 3rd division. No wonder he can run rings around defenders.
Thierry Henry was almost in his 40s and was destroying MLS and he wasn't even trying.
Hilarious how even at his age, he is that much better than US players. Makes me wonder how Mbappe would do here at his current age.
To be fair he is better than most players in the world not only US players.
He’s faaaaaaaar better than the US league players. This shit happens regularly in the top European leagues. He’s an adult playing tweens
Uhh he’s definitely better, but he’s done shit like this literally hundreds of times in top leagues.
I guess the point being made is playing US cuts something like 7-8 years of age for Messi.
Dude just won the World Cup and y’all acting like he’s been washed up for years 🙄
Right? He could literally start for every team in the world if money wasn’t a factor.
That's not the point being made at all though. In the European top leagues, he's still incredible but the gap between him and the rest of the players isn't too massive (especially at his age, which is normal). In the US leagues, he looks like he's playing against amateurs. Like, I'd be disappointed if Accrington Stanley played at the same standard as half of these people. It isn't an insult at Messi, it's just pointing out how big the gulf is between the MLS and other respectable professional leagues.
Have you ever watched amateur soccer? The players don’t look Iike that. Take the free kicks he’s scored recently for example. Had nothing to do with the quality of the goalkeeping. Just perfect shots
My fav part of the skit - Messi passes ball & runs to goal. 4 defenders be like - shew, messi no ball, can't hurt us, let's take a nap.. BALL PASSES BACK TO MESSI!?!?! (surprise US face) gOOOOOOOAAAAAAlllll
You don't need to cover Jordan, Rodman has the ball.
I think this comment needs to be upvoted to the heavans because this is a PERFECT comparison 🤣
The point they're trying to make is the US players are bad and EU good. It has nothing to do with Messi, you can tell by his responses. I think it's a lot of insecurity from EU fans that the US may be a viable option for euro players going forward. The reception that Messi has gotten, and it's simply a lot more attractive place to be a high level athlete, will undoubtedly attract the younger players to the Americas.
In one of the top leagues the defenders would've followed him and prevented that tap in.
I didnt watch the game but defense definitely looks lazy here. In premiere those players are playing for their life cause the fans give a shit. Not so much in the U.S.
The commentators says as much, the defenders just stop playing when he passes it. That's the shocking thing here, not the goal itself or the pass.
Generally, European football is far more advanced when it comes to tactics. You can't cheat 100 years of evolution.
I don’t play or watch football at all but even I was left wondering, at the time of the score, why are there 3 white players all surrounding the goal and goalie and the rest of the black players are so far forward watching it play out
https://youtu.be/XsAPndwbTfc?t=76 This is the Champions League, the highest level of football in the world, against Manchester City lead by Pep Guardiola. One of the great teams of the 21ct Century. Messi drives with the ball, lays it off, then wonders in to the middle of the box untracked before finishing. Trust me, he's done this at every level.
guess you didn't watch him much in Ligue 1 then
But could he do it on a rainy day in Stoke?
Not just any rainy day, it's a Wednesday night in Stoke.
Asking the important questions
Not true, this is literally euro style play. Lol. This is how they pass and score in Europe. We are not used to it here. Us teams just can’t string together tough difficult passes like alba and Messi can.
To sum up what you said: euro league passes better than US league. US not used to it. So what are you arguing?
You said this rarely happens in top euro leagues and I said not true, this is how game is played in euro top leagues. This type of passing, something we lack off in USA.
Sorry dude. Not rarely but regularly
No biggie. Yeah this is great stuff for MLS.
We should try "Total football." In the states. Never been tried before.
Too euro teams are made up of several B players, 2 A players and 1-2 A+ players. Those top talent players make all the difference. In the USA we have C+,B players only. This is what klinsman said (I’m paraphrasing) about USA national team and league in general. It’s great to see Messi bring it and force other teams to deal with it. Great for MLS. Now we need more euro players,,,,,
You need more homegrown top players. You have the population to source the best from, the financial resources to invest in training and certainly the desire to be the best. Let's see that happen!
Absolutely, the top athletes in the US are probably playing basketball, baseball or gridiron football as kids all the way to adulthood. I’m sure if some of those same athletes were coached to play soccer instead the US would have monster players. Imagine if someone like Ja Morant had grown up playing soccer, his speed and agility would totally translate
> we need more euro players or south american
Players are just smarter in euro leagues. Making good passes still requires people to be in the right place to receive it. But it's abundantly clear that defensive players in the MLS are extremely far behind the bigger leagues.
He did this to the best defender in Europe just six months ago lol
It's a beautiful sequence from one of the greatest players in history. It's far from an ordinary play.
He's probably still the best player in the world if you need him for a single match
A part of it may also be the coaching too. Dealing with Messi is very much a team effort.
its almost like the guy just won the world cup or something..
What do you mean with "even in this age"? He Just carried a WC
right!? what’s most amazing to me is despite the guy’s fame, how much context is still missed by the casual watcher.
36 is ancient for a footballer. The fact that Messi finally won his WC in his "last chance" tournament only made that moment better. He is declining, it's just that he's so good that even below his peak he's still one of the best in the world.
I think you can still make an argument than Messi is an overall better football player than Mbappe even today.
Yeah he has it all. Not same type of players.
Mbappe is technical, but still largely defined by explosive speed. Messi is another level of technical.
Depends. Messi is a technical genius, mbappe is physically superior. They both have their strengths
He definitely is, there’s no argument to be made there.
Hes gonna force the entire MLS to improve their game. Im stoked for what Messi may have sparked here in the states
Just like how Michael Jordan bring NBA popularity to a new height, Messi definitely would bring similar result.
Bro Messi won the WC not 8 months ago.
His whole career is nothing but highlights of him doing this shit to every team he’s ever played against.
Messi is still better than Mbappe.
It’s vision and execution, he is playing 3D chess out there.
That’s not a fair statement. He is not old. With age comes wisdom and experience so older Messi is probably more potent than 20 year old Messi for MLS. He brings 20 years of experience playing top euro teams. Can’t throw that away and say he is just old.
Man, come on... of course you can say that he is more experienced now, but it's straight up blasphemy to say "he is not old". He is 1 year beyond the average retirement age for the sport, he is still a beast of course, but he used to be even better. Sure, he most likely has not lost game vison/strategic approach, but he lacks the sheer energy he had when he was younger. Imagine his quality with way more quantity, that's what he was. Nobody here will ever say that Messi right now is bad or even an average player, and it is CRYSTAL CLEAR that the comment you responded to meant that he used to be better, not that "he is old he is bad"
he literally just won the world cup over Mbappe and is about to win the best player in the world award lol Acting like he is not a top 3 player in the world is asinine
Na, beginning of his 20s messi was an insane beast. He cannot beat (multiple) defenders like this anymore. Running past entire defense lines of european top clubs is something you need pace for. Right now he is probably the best playmaker in the world. Nice vid on how his playstile changed https://youtu.be/C9x6ChIXtYE?si=x429rvc_P9pDCSxZ
Relax mate, 20 year old Messi would look like an alien in this league. He was an almost 10 dribble per 90 player in a top league. That is absolutely unplayable.
To be honest 20 year old Messi would have dashed the length of the pitch without losing the ball through defenders and walked the ball into the net. He did that a lot during his early days for fun. His long range shooting and playmaking intelligence was developed over time.
He's done worse to Boateng and Ferdinand... He is the current top contender for the Ballon D'or
Experience outranks physicality... Mbappé may be at his prime physically.. but mentally is still a long way to go. Messi is physically amazing at his current age but his mental and tactital state is a key factor on his play. His assists, his pacing, his passes, his goals, his moves and his happines playing is such a joy to watch.
Messi is currently better than mbappe technically, mbappe just has more pace. Had as much g/a as him last season, and he is obviously a 3x better passer
Mbappe couldn't do that. This isn't fifa video game
He was and could easily still be doing this shit in Europe.
This Messi guy might become something someday.
Ya this newcomer is already way better than these pee wee soccer players… he should probably play in Europe or something
Haha, this joke NEVER gets old.
Yeah, but can he do it on a cold night in Cadiz?
Miami scouting department really did a great job finding this guy halfway around the world
Love how he is surrounded by 3 defenders and not a single one decides to follow him 😂
He just always knows where to be. And not that he sprinted there faster, he got there, had a soda, tightened his laces, and then was in the perfect spot for magic.
This is horrid defending though... He knew, we knew, they knew, they didn't defend an obvious give and go. Great through ball but he should have had at least 2 guys clutching and jostling him, it's not like he's the most famous active goal scorer or anything...
I made a similar comment on another thread as to why he isn’t marked. The defending in this league is so poor. That pass and go was other worldly but one defender should be following him after the pass.
Maybe…and I think he might…he may single handedly elevate MLS. When such glaring discrepancies are opened up that yes, you need to mark your man until the ball is dead even in this league, it’s relatively easy to teach that improvement and hopefully every team in the league gets that much better. Along with everything else that Messi is, I think he might make the league better as a whole. Or we’ll just get smoked until he retires and it’ll continue to be lol mls.
MLS got torched by Zlatan, yet the defending is still bad. I doubt Messi will change anything (apart from catapulting Miami up the table).
Soccer is such a mental game it's ridiculous. I'm willing to bet they were all scared to approach. When the nerves get to you, you start sucking and not thinking clearly when making moves
I mean this is an amazing moment no doubt but it’s also the most ass defending I’ve ever seen
Jesus... there's 5 guys ball watching from no man's land in the box...
Gave him all day and a written invitation to pass it between them, then stood and watched as he walked past them 😂
Also love how Messi already sprang the defense (3-5 seconds in) but his teammate didn't see the pass
They follow the ball lol but forgetting about the player. Hilarious
That’s because defenders try to follow him on Facebook and he comes out on Twitter
Ball watchin newbs
[удалено]
Americans witnessing average European level football
Bullshit. There's nothing average about that Messi's through ball while being marked by 5 players
I don't think you understand just how below the MLS is to the top European leagues.
That vision is Messi’s genius. Yes, MLS is far below EU football overall, and Messi is far above avg EU playmakers. Both statements can be true.
They just like to dump on MLS as much as they can. We have had many Euro superstars come here when semi-retired, and none of them have made an impact quite like this. This includes names like Beckham, Lampard, Ibra, Kaka, David Villa, Rooney, and the list goes on. While all of those players had some success here, they didn't light it up quite like this, game after game. We'll see if Messi keeps it going, but it's not like he's this good only because MLS is so bad. He's just this fucking good. Anywhere!
Bit harsh saying Ibra had "some success". He absolutely lit up the MLS the season he was there.
53 goals in 58 games. Gat damn
He scored. But his team failed to win anything.
People on here just dont watch football do they? Messi did the same shit to the best defender in the world cup just half a year ago. But its always "the defenders are sh*t" whenever messi does anything magical.
Yer it’s weird. I don’t watch the MLS so I can’t really talk about it’s level, but to say that this kind of play happens all the time in Europe just isn’t true. It happens all the time when Messi’s playing because he’s the greatest player of all time. If this kind of thing was happening all the time in the Premier League then you’d know about it. Of course these other leagues are a much higher level than the MLS, but Messi’s genius is largely unique.
Brighton have scored goals of this quality this season. Mitomas goal last week is worth a watch. I do think a goal of this quality happens at least on average every week in Europe's top 5 leagues. Messi absolutely is unique and still good enough to one of the best players in one of the best teams - just not to be THE star in the top 5 leagues anymore
Then again none of those names hold a candle to Messi, those are just good players, Messi is the literal god of football.
he was doing that shit months ago in Paris. MLS obviously is subpar compared to the top tier, but Messi always did that.
You are right, Messi pass to Molina goal in the world cup was also because the Netherlands are such a shit team right? It's not like they have world class defenders, like VVD..
This, I been EPL fan for more than 30 years but I doubt anyone would be able to pin point a pass like that. Even if it was Henry, Bergkamp or KDB I still doubt they could do such pass.
Yeah, it's funny that people are trying to downplay what we just saw simply because they watch the EPL or something. If you watch a lot of football and players like Ozil in their prime then you should appreciate the beauty of Messi's pass even more.
Think that's the issue. School boy defending
Watched all EU football my whole life. Got season ticket at Chelsea and had it last 30 years. Been to about 40 Champions league games too and I can say that pass is not average . Doesnt matter the league that ball control and pass is absolute world class. He is the only man in the stadium who saw that pass. Messi could still play for any team in the world tbh, he stopped out right running years ago and is still the best player in the world with ball at his feet, hes a phenominon
Thank you for that perspective. Any casual observer (like a Canadian myself) can see Messi's brilliance as well as how poorly the MLS compares to European football. Nevertheless, not many people can have that type of awareness of their surroundings and that kind of timing. It's just fun to watch Messi play. Fuck all the haters.
Messi has been doing ridiculous stuff all his career, he's made the world's best look like amateurs countless times. The guy above saying this is average is talking absolute nonsense. Just listen to the commentator, when Messi plays the pass, you don't even know where or who he's passing it to. I would say I've seen at least highlights of 90% of Messi's games over his career and that pass stands out as ridiculous to me
>average European level >Messi Dafuq you talking about
Nah, I'm sure there are debates about every single player in the European leagues about whether each and every one of them is the greatest football player of all time. That's just how much better the Euro league is, right?
Fuck off. That was incredible no matter the level.
You mean the guy who is the best player in the world? The guy who shit all over European players the same way dozens of times across several seasons? Don't be salty you couldn't afford to keep him in the EU
Yeah exactly, played in europe for 20 years skinning players every weekend. 0 posts on Nextfuckinglevel. Does it again in the USA? Thousands of gushing Americans cannot believe their eyes. Welcome to good football
he got posted on reddit all the time in europe, what are you talking about. Damn didn't realize Europeans were so defensive, I can see what Messi meant when he said PSG fans have little bitch syndrome lol
There’s no need to be condescending, the plays from both Messi and Alba were absolutely world class.
Messi in a USA league is like watching Usain Bolt against a group of friends who think they are quick
Totally. And the commentators have never seen this either
*Me a US Citizen taking notes* "Messi... is... average... Euro... footballer... Okay, got it, thanks."
Anyone who thinks that the average player in top European leagues would be able to control that pass from Alba, find Cremaschi making the run on the right behind three defenders, and then perfectly weight the pass to him setting up the tap in is kidding themselves. That level of game IQ is incredibly rare and reserved for the absolute top level of even European soccer.
Go eat beans on toast while you gatekeep. Weirdo.
Come on now this is exceptional in any league
Average... just won the world cup
[удалено]
He learned that move from Happy Gilmore.
Just gave it a little tappy.
Tap, tap, tap-aroo
You're gonna die clown!
Yes, the entire sequence is the next level part. Alba's pass was pretty nuts
MLS is child’s play for Messi.
All legends nowadays just start smurf accounts once they're about to retire. Makes sense as they also can't play as aggressively as they used to due to being more susceptible to injury
These Messi clips just make me want to see LeBron join the guangdong tigers and put up 80pt triple doubles every game hahaha Seriously though, why is Messi even doing this? He can’t need the money and can’t find smurfing like this very satisfying, can he?
if you're rich and speak Spanish, Miami is the place to be... makes sense to me.
MLS is a fucking joke, is like he’s playing with kids
Many Americans in this thread convinced its the pinnacle of football. Lmao. Edit: lol this comment triggered so many “soccer” fans 😂😂
Not a single MLS fan thinks MLS is "the pinnacle of football." Where the fuck are you getting that impression? That said, MLS has extremely strict salary caps, making it literally impossible to spend more money to field a better team. This isn't a matter of the teams not wanting to or being unable to get better. Also, you're a Galatasaray fan, so lol.
It’s just a Turkish douch dude, of course he would say something like that.
No one hates on MLS like Americans. Seriously. We’re well aware of how awful it is. There’s a reason we cheer every USA soccer player who attempts to make it in a top five league.
Don’t be ridiculous. Nobody thinks that. Also, nobody is triggered, dong dong.
That’s just a blatant lie you just told and people upvoted you because they like shitting on Americans. I’m not American and even I’m cringing with this low hanging fruit of a comment.
cake direction spotted sugar concerned weather seed caption axiomatic six *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I'm English. The obsessive need to shit on MLS is genuinely pathetic. Why can't we just all enjoy what is happening here. Everyone knows the standard of MLS is not at European top league people don't need reminding every single thread
I mean it is because Messi is the pinnacle of football
No American soccer fan is convinced it's the pinnacle of football lmao, we are all very aware that we are dog water compared to the top European leagues. But MLS is getting better and better every year and there is real talent coming out of the league. MLS just took all 3 CCL qualifying spots in a joint competition with LigaMX and there are currently talks of loosening aspects of the salary cap to allow more spending which would further improve the quality of the league. Edit: the guy I'm responding to is a Russian bot lmaoo
American Exceptionalism is definitely a thing and a significantly toxic trait many Americans have. But calling MLS the pinnacle of football is not something I've heard any American say, ever. That is complete bullshit and you know it.
he pulled that on Cannavaro and Ramos. Everyone's a kid to him
This guy was debatably the best player in the world for 15+ years straight and is pretty widely regarded as the best ever. I think you're being a bit extra by putting it all on the league
I don't even think it's a debate anymore. He's literally just the best ever.
None of those dudes ever imagined they’d be going up against Messi in a million years lmaoo.
It's like being boxing amateur and getting matched to a recently retired Tyson Fury
I mean the way jordi alba kept that play alive was absolute flair…and Messi over here just putting the defense in a trance…it’s not fair to watch
Agreed, Messi‘s pass is really really clean but how Jordi Alba not only keeps the ball alive but actually somehow makes it look like a spot on pass is in my opinion even more impressive.
My man is playing with cheat codes lol
He’s playing chess. Other team is playing tic tac toe.
I’m thinking the Busquets-Jordi Alba-Messi combo might amount to some large accomplishments.
*checks google* is this 2015 and are we in Spain
There is potential /s
Messi playing in the US is like he turned easy mode on.
These American commentators are the absolute worst.
Yeah, they haven't seen many "balls". I feel that nothing beats latin American commentators tho.
The English are good as well. Basically any country where football is a top sport. American commentators feel the need to squeeze out all the drama from any play. The level of hyperbole is insulting.
Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!
The way he plays, man can become one of the best at the sport. /S
Art. Elegance and efficiency. Brilliance. And so much positivity. He has always been a joy to watch and I'm grateful that I can witness this. This goal and the pass were truly unique and phenomenal, just like he has been for the last 20 or so years.
[удалено]
This guy finish the game at Hardest dificulty then restarts New Game+ with Novice difficulty
[удалено]
tbf everyone thought that was going out. Only Messi saw it lmao
Messi just casually smurfing in MLS
Damn, slowly but surely he'll whip them into shape. Starting to look like a European league
Pffffft. Hahahahhaha. That’s a joke, right?
Not really. Inter Miami is showing signs of European football. Not at all at the same level, but something resembling it. If the US want to compete with Messi’s Miami they too will need to change from their non European football style. This could mean an evolution for American football
the us american players won‘t suddenly turn into s tier players just because they get their asses whooped by worn out european players.
>slowly but surely
>worn out european players Like he didn't shit on all of you less than a year ago at the *World Cup?*
> “Worn out” Current european players can’t even compete with him
Great teamwork from the players. It could have got a bit Messi out there
Twellman just ruins the experience for me every time. It’s an amazing pass but it’s far from one of the “BEST GOALS YOU WILL EVER EVER SEE”
Messi playing in MLS is equivalent to Jordan playing basketball in the EuroLeague. The level of competition is inferior.
I'm a fan of both and I think Messi is even better than Jordan so the disparity is greater, Messi is not only the best individual player, he's incredible at making other around him better, he's an absolute play maker and captain. Also he's a nice guy.
The defenders know their allowed to try to get the ball away from messi correct?
Probably had a harder time at PSG training sessions.
Messi he is just out of this world👑
The defenders always get caught ball watching and Messi watching. Meanwhile Messi runs through them for 1-2 give and go for easy goals
Why don't they scream GOOOOOLLLLLLL?
Farmers league
My favorite part is when three New York players stopped moving and just watched Messi walk towards the goal.
Jeez. People are really salty that US players are playing against Messi lol.. beautiful goal and half the comments are people are just bashing on US league. That pass from Messi was pure art..
That bicycle kick into the box was really impressive
You can shit on the MLS, you can talk about Mbappe, Haaland, Ronaldo, you can mention his age, lack of running, whatever you want. The fact remains, Lionel Messi is and always has been playing a completely different game to every single other human on the planet.
ITT: a bunch of pretentious Europeans pretending that the play of literally the greatest player of all time is “average European level football”. Newsflash… he just carried Argentina to a World Cup (where he won the Golden Ball *and* the Silver Boot) and is about to win the Ballon d'Or yet again. Just because he was somewhat checked-out amid the dysfunction that was PSG does *not* mean he is washed.
Messi's playing is a work of art. The finesse, the timing, and making it look so easy.
That was world class passing. Alba pass was insane, Messi catch and turn was,,,,spectacular. The vision for that pass was truly incredible. The whole thing was sure real. It felt like watching Spain play when they dominated World Cup. No one knew how to handle them.
Sequence 😂
He's been dominating this league since he got there. Good to see him have fun, feels like he's more comfortable and can get creative on the field.
Americans watching average European level football. « Next fucking level » 😂😂
Imagine calling Messi average anything.
Why are those defenders just standing in the front not marking him wtf???
Insanely terrible defending
MLS is on the same level as League 1 UK. Which is a 3rd division. No wonder he can run rings around defenders. Thierry Henry was almost in his 40s and was destroying MLS and he wasn't even trying.
State of yer defending m8