Install Lionel Messi today and/or in the last few years as the top 9 in Barcelona, he would score far more goals than Lewandowski is scoring now.
Or play him instead of Harvetz in that Arsenal team last season? That's almost an insult on Messi to even compare with the German. Infact with Messi, Arsenal would have wrapped up the league by May and appeared in the CL final.
There is an extra-ordinary striker in Messi, if we must be truthful. His goals record(in Barcelona) of the most goal by a striker in a calendar year, no one, even Cristiano Ronaldo, have broken it till date.
But Messi feels at peace with himself not being the main striker, or the primary goal threat. Not just that, he plays so exceptionally behind the striker that you would want to swear that this guy can't be a top 9.
Now that's how blessed this guy is. It's the 'size' of his brain. Take Messi to right-back today, he would surprise you with his quality.
What else can Ronaldo(Ronny) do? You say he can do exactly what Messi is doing? So why isn't he doing it already?
Maybe:
- He hasn't got the ability Messi has.
- He has the ability, but he thinks that goal scoring is the opium of football, so he should focus on that squarely.
- His camp/coaches have made him to believe he is more attractive or best suited for playing as a top 9.
You watched him in the Euros and the few times he dropped deep to receive the ball, his ball handling was as sleek and smart as a midfielder's. Ok let me leave that first.
If we assume that number 2 above is true, I will also remind you of the huge ego of this player in question. Ofcourse I know some folks don't like to hear this aspect.
Marrying his pride with number 2, it therefore means that since goals are the opium of football, let me score them so that I would be in the eyes of the spectators, let them call my name, let them idolise me.
Okay someone says, I'm too harsh. Is it not okay for a player to set a target? Is it bad to have scoring goals as your target? Well that's a valid point. Afterall Le Bron James in Basketball, has scoring as his goal and that's much of what keeps him going eventhough a lot of his age mates have retired.
Yet LeBron had to adjust with time, shooting much more long distant balls(3 pointers) than he did earlier in his career. That helps him to conserve energy.
Where do we go from here? Even at club level, a certain Sadio Mane is playing the role at the left that made Ronny popular. So Ronny seems condemned to just being a striker now. That is putting so much pressure on himself, whilst Messi is enjoying himself.
Some will say that's the sign of a champion, he loves the pressure, pressure is his performance pill. Well I won't argue on that, but permit me to point out that:
On his return to United playing from his usual left channel, no one scored more goals than him in that team.
Well if pressure is his performance pill, remember that Argentina won the World cup in the presence of Portugal, Ronny playing as the top 9.
Secondly, Portugal is out of the Euros whilst Argentina is in the finals of an even larger competition called Copa America. At club level, one being in Saudi and the other in the US, Ronny can't be said to have won more things than Messi.
So what's the use of all that pressure CR7 puts on himself?
🚶♀️
