The Heir To The Argentine Throne - Judging Messi V.2
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The Heir To The Argentine Throne - Judging The Next Messi
This Episode - Lionel Messi
Hello everybody and welcome to the second installment to my What Does The Future Hold series! Due to a similar title to an article recently, I have decided to change the name of this to what you see on the Forum page. After we looked at the potential successor to Cristiano Ronaldo, I decided it would be best to look at his rival to the 'best player in the world' Tag, Lionel Messi! I have looked at all the potential candidates and I can confirm it will be a Midfielder/Defender. Anyway, let's hop back into that Time Machine and head into the magical year of 2023! Wait, what's that? The Machine is broken?! Ah god. It's gone 1 year ahead. Ah well, let's go anyway....
In Case You Forgot....
1. Playing for Barcelona
2. Same Nationality as Messi
3. Similar attributes to Messi
4. Similar statistics as Messi
5. Similar career path as Messi
1. Playing For Barcelona
So for this category, in case you are new, we look at the player in 8 years time who is leading the line for Barcelona, helping them to titles etc....
Lukaku has been prolific since his big money move to the Bernabau (wait, Bernabau? I must be getting confused, Barca don't usually sign players for over £30 Million
) Lukaku has hit a massive 105 goals. His attributes look good, his attributes aren't quite Messi standard but are good for a finisher of his structure. His physicals are a sight to behold though, so can he manage it in La Liga and lead Barca to success?
Woah! A massive 4 titles in his 4 full seasons in Catalonia. That's Messi standard success right there. He has been a major part of the domination period in La Liga, and makes a big claim to Messi's throne, as much as that angers me, a United fan
Verdict:
Lukaku is a strong contender, with a huge goal ratio and trophy cabinet to go with it, Messi wouldn't be dissapointed with that record. With more players to come though, let's see what it brings.
Right, back into the machine we go. Are your hands and feet inside? Ah well, who cares. Let's go!
2. Same Nationality As Messi
Ah, here we are! The Argentine FA headquarters, where the players have just returned from a vigorous training session. The birds are singing, that car's alarm over there is going off and is rather annoying, and my choice of clothes makes me look a tad silly. Anywho, inside we go to meet the players....
Now, something different indeed. We aren't showing Paulo's club form, because frankly isn't doesn't matter for this category. If we look at his ITN record for Argentina, it is prolific. Very, very prolific. 42 in 61 for the South American side makes him almost as Prolific as Messi, who, in real life, sits on 58 in 118. In fact, you could argue Paulo is more prolific. Even more, his attributes look beautiful. 20's in Shooting and Pace make him a similar threat to Messi. How did he do for Argentina now that Lionel is long gone?
Not bad at all! 2 national honours in the Comfederations Cup and the World Cup, whilst they are runners up in the Copa America 3 times in a row! A very successful national career for Dybala then, making him a legend alongside Messi, at least on National triumphs and goals.
Verdict:
A difficult one to judge, Dybala is attributally (yes, that's a word now) fantastic and has achieved National success on the highest stage, winning the World Cup. His goal to game ratio is also phenomenal, and he could easily be put on the same level as Leo. In my opinion, he is closer to Romelu to being the heir to the throne left by Messi.
3. Similar Attributes To Messi
This is a tricky one. We are looking for a lot of 18's, 19's and 20's in key areas, so we had to look everywhere! I popped in the coordinates go several countries, spanning from France to Portugal. We were even stuck in Italy for a week due to overheating! However, we returned to Paris to check one more time, when a certain gem hit our eyes....
And that gem is Portuguese maestro Guedes! I don't like talking too much about attributes as it's pretty bland, but he has a nice set of greens on him, including in key areas like Pace, Movement and Passing. To accompany this, he has contributed to a massive 184 of PSG's goals in the last 6 seasons. That's absoloutley insane, and he has been a major asset in their attack, much like Leo Messi himself. At 27, we could well see a lot of those greens go up, but it's highly unlikely. Guedes is actually the best of the bunch, with most other attackers around his price range having similar or worse stats.
Verdict:
Guedes is influential for PSG, much like our good friend Messi is to Barca, but he isn't quite him and at his age it's unlikely he will develop much further, he is the furthest away from the Messi crown.
4. Similar Statistics To Messi
Right, next up we are looking for pure goals. We travelled to a luxurious manor last time to visit a 39 year old CR7 as he told us of his career achievements, this time however we are traveling to....Antarctica! Lionel, since his retirement in 2022, has led a massive investigation into the structure of a snowflake, and thought he'd get a lot of snow over there. He wasn't wrong. We quickly pop in for a latte and to talk before escaping that icy exile.
Games: 382
Goals: 349
Right. That's just pure lies. Surely! Anyway, we set out for a striker who can come anywhere near those numbers.....
Next up on our tour we visit Portugal, where Andre Silva has been tearing up the division for the last 9/10 years. His record, as far away from Messi's as it is, is still purely brilliant. He has managed to score 20 or more in every single season since 2017, and scored over 200 goals for Porto. Nowhere near Messi's total, but still pretty prolific and one of the highest tallies in the entire game database!
Verdict:
Silva is prolific, but not Messi prolific. He doesn't win the title. As blunt as that may be, it's true.
5. Similar Career Path To Messi
For this, we are after a player who has stayed at one club for the entirety of their career. For that, there is only one man!
MMMMAAAAARRRRCCCCUUUUUSSSSS RRRRAAAASSSSHHHHFFFFOOOORRRRDDDD!!!!
Massively impressive totals from Rashford. Still only 26, he has remained in Manchester for his whole career so far, becoming the main talisman and being the premium goalgetter on the rugged turf in front of the Old Trafford faithful. He has stayed at United for his whole footballing life, and looks set to become the next Lampard or Gerrard. His goal tallies are good, but not prolific. Silva, for example, was much more prolific.
Verdict:
Despite his decent total and similar career line up, it's not quite Messi standard.
Conclusion:
Well, 5 very different players and 3 who are in contention for definite. Lukaku has achieved major success in Spain, winning 4 titles and scoring bags of goals. Dybala meanwhile has achieved mass International plaudits, and Guedes has lead the line for PSG with lethal fashion. Silva has banged in the most out of the lot, and Rashford has been loyal, like Messi. In my opinion, Lukaku is the heir to Leo's throne. He has managed a lot, a lot of goals, whilst leading the line for Barca, Messi's club, and delivering mass domestic success.
Id love to hear your opinions on this too, so feel free to leave a comment! Thanks for reading.
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