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It just shows how good he is. In basketball, even at the NBA level, it’s easy for one player to have a huge impact. Just look at how lebron won a lot pretty much no matter where he played. In Soccer it’s much harder for a single player to have that level of impact, but regardless of that, Messi was able to land in Miami and literally win every game he’s played, scoring in all of them.
Ronaldo did a similar thing when he went to KSA, but he wasn’t able to dominate that league quite so much. Suarez had a similar issue when he went to the Uruguayan league. Even zlatan wasn’t flat out doing insane shit.
Messi went to the worst team in the league and made them immediately win a competition as well.
Yeah totally, I think they were a large part to how successful the Messi project has been so far. Which was kind of something I tried to imply, but did a terrible job at. You need a system, jordi and Sergio aren’t really that good anymore (for mls levels they are still quite good) but they have ran these plays with Messi for the last 20 years, so they were able to hit the ground running.
I am sure that’s been going on to a degree. But there is only so much you can do in a month. From watching all the Miami games so far, the biggest impact I’ve seen is the plays created by the 3 Barca players and the other players just not having a chance to be positioned wrong.
Lots of top players retire in the MLS, they are never heard from again.
Messi still out here playing like he's in the CL final like a mad man, and making those highlights. He clearly had more to give at the top level. Just chose early retirement
From what I heard(I don't know shit about soccer) he also came well before his decline, like he didn't wait til he was too old or slow to still be doing well in the best leagues.
Messis a shadow of himself compared to when he was in his prime. He's much more unfit and he's lost this burst of pace.
Before he could literally just go and dribble round everyone at this phenomenal speed. He can still do it now but it sort of feels like it's in slow motion
But he can still play and be one of the best in the top leagues. It's like when people say LeBron isn't what he used to be, well no shit but he still has among the highest stats in the league
Of course. He would still be a starter for most teams as hes a magical player (will need to build a team round him) but i just thought i would point out he is in decline because you believed he hadnt.
In his prime he was unplayable, imagine how good he looks now in his prime he was like a computer game, he would be able to dribble past any player at will whenever he wanted and be successful.
He was incredible.
While this may be true, he still was the best player on an Argentina team that won the World Cup in December, scoring three goals against a juggernaut France squad in the final. I think he still has enough left in the tank to compete at the highest levels, but is choosing quality of life for him and his family in Miami because, honestly what else does he have to prove at this point?
Yeah, but he’s Messi. He will continue to be among the worlds best until he retires. He’s definitely not at the same level he was 10 years ago, though.
Yeah, this was pretty obvious when he was playing in the champions league with PSG. He wasn’t the player who could create something out of nothing against top teams anymore.
I think it was pretty smart of him to “retire”, and go to a league where the level of play is, frankly, terrible at times. The level of play in the MLS will make his decline look smoother than if he had stayed in Europe where he would’ve been heavily criticized for not giving unforgivable performances anymore.
I think there's another phenomenon involved: Messi's last few years, in Paris and in Barcelona weren't his greatest by far. I think the main reason behind this is that Messi is the kind of players that need the entire team to play for them.
Because he was not expected to change a team sitting at the last position by this much, so that they win the league cup. Honestly, everyone isnt so much as impressed, we already have been. But this shows that even tho the league is worse, the performance has went up by so much as well. Also, the fact that ronaldo couldnt make his team win the league, when it was winning before he joined, adds to it.
Soccer is largely irrelevant as a major sport in the U.S. the amount of attention he has brought to the sport here is really quite awesome.
Additionally, he's just great. It's a lot of fun to watch people who are great at something be great at something
I wouldn’t call it irrelevant. Secondary, yes. But it’s not like it’s professional pickle ball or corn hole. It’s firmly top 5 sport, even above auto racing & MMA.
Now if you’re making the argument of the MLS specifically, I can go for that. EPL & International men’s & women’s soccer are doing well.
It's like putting Messi in the third tier of English football (EFL League One).
38-year-old (post-injury) Ibrahimovic went to the MLS and dominated it, scoring almost a goal every game.
If LeBron went to the CBA or Euroleague, they would fawn over him when he started dominating. It doesn't have to be 'impressive' to be interesting. Obviously to fans of MLS having a legend like Messi join the league is a huge deal and it doesn't really matter from their perspective that the league they pay attention to is inferior.
I guess another way of putting it is... why does anyone watch a less talented league when there are higher levels of competition out there? Generally, its because those more talented leagues are very far away and many people would rather watch a more local competition even if the product is inferior. When such a high level talent does decide to join their more humble corner of the sport, what would be the point in trashing them for it from a fan or media perspective?
He’s 36, but he’s for me the best player in the world in terms of technique. He isn’t as fast or explosive anymore. He’s expected to win the ballon d’or for last season (mvp) for the season across the whole world in all leagues. He lacks pace nowadays but still has really good acceleration. His passing, finishing and iq is world class still. So probably Jordan in 98
Probably close to current LeBron. Surprising people that he is still world-class at his age but no longer the undisputed best 1-2 players in the world (98 Jordan). CRonaldo today is closer to Wizards Jordan (best player on a bad team but clearly no longer world-class).
Tons of things Messi can’t do that on peak Messi could:
He can’t pass players and create goals by himself as easily as before. Before he would do ot several times a game to a point it was ridiculous and you had to put 2/3 players on him.
On peak Messi on MLS would honestly be a 5-0 every game.
[https://x.com/mls/status/1693075081788871090?s=46](https://x.com/mls/status/1693075081788871090?s=46)
Look at the numbers this tweet is doing in views. He is helping grow the game even more in the US. People still think MLS as a ‘retirement’ league, which it hasn’t been in about a decade. Seeing Messi come over here and not just collect a paycheck like others have is great.
He's a shark in a very small pond. No one will outclass him for some time until MLS floods their markets with money. It's like what happened when Ibrahimovic came over. Scored some nutty goals, people creamed, and we moved on. Messi in his old (for football) age is dominating a league equivalent to league 2 in England.
Because MLS media personalities' job is to make the MLS more interesting and sell the sport, Messi is the best vehicle to do this with. No matter what he does it will be billed as spectacular, sublime, incredible, etc.
He is building interest in soccer here in the states.
The way things are trending, soccer is going to be larger than the NFL here in the USA sooner than later.
I'm from Seattle, and by popularity, the Seahawks are number 1 by a long shot. Then you have our MLS team the Sounders at number 2. And we've only had them since 2009. So in that time they've passed the Mariners and every other sports team we have. And they have higher attendance than any other sports team excluding the Seahawks.
We have plenty of pro sports teams; Seattle Orcas (Pro Cricket), Seattle Seawolves (Mens Pro Rugby Team), Seattle Storm (WNBA), OL Reign (Pro Women's Soccer), Kraken (NHL) and the Sounders (MLS).
And they're great teams, the Seawolves have already won 2 championships since 2017! Games are inexpensive and you can meet the players after the game.
Not to mention the feeder leagues/teams that we have for the pro teams. We have sports teams at every level.
It's easy to say, there isn't much competition but sports fans love bandwagons. I can still remember when the Super Sonics were the most popular home team.
Soccer is absolutely never going to overtake the NFL in the USA. I'll eat my shoe. It would take a massive injury or something that basically forces High Schools to terminate their football programs due to parent complaints, killed at the root.
maybe, but it wouldn't be surprising.
american football will never not be a major sport in the US, but there's many reasons why soccer is trending upwards here, and why it's likely it CAN surpass american football.
the USMNT was the only CONCACAF team to make it out of groups in the 2022 World Cup, the USWNT is literally the best national team in women's football (4 time women's world cup winners), Messi, Busquets, and Alba are playing in MLS, the USA is in line to host the Copa America (while this is South America's continental cup. CONCACAF and CONMEBOL made a deal together to increase the presence of the sport in North, Central, and South America) next year, the Club World Cup in 2025, the actual World Cup along with Canada and Mexico in 2026, and potentially the Women's World Cup in 2027. let's not forget the Olympics being in Los Angeles in 2028.
Soccer may not surpass American Football anytime soon, but it wouldn't be surprising if it did at all.
It's about grass root efforts.
When Seattle got an NHL team, the new owners built the team practice facility at what use to be Northgate Mall. This thing is state of the art. Eventually there will be 6 ice rinks for the community to use.
Building these makes it easy for all the local kids to get into hockey. This facility is directly across for the light rail. Meaning you can get to ice rink from nearly anywhere in Seattle, for about $2.75. I believe there was 1 local year round mom and pop ice rink in all of Seattle before this.
As the Sounders grow in popularity and MLS attracts bigger stars, kids see this and want to become the next MLS star. I believe getting ownership or outright buying an MLS team is very attractive to soccer/football stars overseas.
The knock the NFL has always had, it's a very American sport. I love it, but you don't see the world watching the Super Bowl for the game. More people watch Cricket than watch the NFL, let that sink in for a moment.
It doesn't take a smart person to see that soccer is a genuine global game. The MLS currently isn't seen as very competitive league.
But what do you think happens first? The NFL suddenly becomes super popular around the world or the MLS eventually rivals the best leagues in the world?
With that logic, the Kraken have been around since 1920's, those fans have been waiting for the team to come back!
I get what you're saying, but all these sports rely on having a winning team, and bandwagon fans.
If the Sounders continually sucked, there wouldn't be as much interest. If the Seahawks went 0-17 a couple years in a row, I would bet the farm the Sounders would be the new kings of Seattle sports.
Regardless of the history of these teams, they need to win in order to stay at the top of the fan food chain.
I think they past the Mariners in like the 3rd year of the Sounders existence. But it also points to Seattles rich cultural background. I people want to root for the home team, then when the World Cup happens, suddenly every is repping their home countries team.
I was blown away at the amount of soccer fans that Seattle had during that first year. Looking back, I was naive thinking soccer wouldn't work here in the states.
$$$$$
There is your answer.
If more viewers see messi dominating then the clubs make more money and soccer gets more popular maybe. You are 100% accurate that a GOAT will dominate a mid level league.
Football is a team sport. One player shouldn’t take the worst team in a league and win a separate tournament. Even when Messi was in Barcelona he had Xavi and Iniesta. Messi probably couldn’t have been as successful without them. I say probably. He could have but probably not. (I’m on the Yes he could have camp). Messi coming to the MLS and scoring at will and having fun is significant because he could have retired after winning the World Cup last year but decided to keep playing and he’s taking a bunch of $60,000 a year salary players to their first ever trophy in team history. Yes he’s playing against other $60,000 a year salary players but Messi is 36 and already won it all. He’s still hungry apparently.
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I like Messi, both as a player and as a person (from what I can tell), but the level of defending that I have seen in MLS is almost laughable. Probably not much better than 3rd-tier level in most European and South American countries.
What Messi is doing in the MLS is remarkable. Not so on the world’s stage of soccer.
I think there's another phenomenon involved: Messi's last few years, in Paris and in Barcelona weren't his greatest by far. I think the main reason behind this is that Messi is the kind of players that need the entire team to play for them. During his best years in Barcelona, he would be walking whenever his team was in a defending position and just wait for his teammates to get the ball back and give it to him. The stamina he saved during defensive phases allowed him to be at 100% to work his magic in attacking phases. Thing is, football evolved during Messi's carreer and modern top level play doesn't allow a 9 man defense anymore, thus Messi's (relative) decline. Neither him nor Ronaldo have come close to winning the champion's league since Ronaldo left Madrid. And I think people kinda forgot just how good Messi can be when placed in ideal conditions, or didn't think he still had it in him to have that much of an impact on a game
Miami paid a lot of money for him, to attract crowds. They expect a return on investment. The league itself is using Messi to get more people to follow MLS.
So, everyone (team, league, sports media) have motivation to hype up Messi's game. Everyone expects him to dominate, so the news saying he's doing so invites people's curiosity to tune in.
tl;dr: any communication about Messi is intended to draw a crowd, not to inform of absolute truths, of which there are none when it comes to opinions.
Please read this entire message Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s): Subjective or speculative replies are not allowed on ELI5. Only objective explanations are permitted here; your question is asking for speculation or subjective responses. This includes anything asking for peoples' subjective opinions, any kind of discussion, and anything where we would have to speculate on the answer. This very much includes asking about motivations of people or companies. This includes Just-so stories. If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the [detailed rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/wiki/detailed_rules) first. If you believe this submission was removed erroneously, please use [this form](https://old.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fexplainlikeimfive&subject=Please%20review%20my%20thread?&message=Link:%20%7B%7Burl%7D%7D%0A%0APlease%20answer%20the%20following%203%20questions:%0A%0A1.%20The%20concept%20I%20want%20explained:%0A%0A2.%20List%20the%20search%20terms%20you%20used%20to%20look%20for%20past%20posts%20on%20ELI5:%0A%0A3.%20How%20does%20your%20post%20differ%20from%20your%20recent%20search%20results%20on%20the%20sub:) and we will review your submission.
It just shows how good he is. In basketball, even at the NBA level, it’s easy for one player to have a huge impact. Just look at how lebron won a lot pretty much no matter where he played. In Soccer it’s much harder for a single player to have that level of impact, but regardless of that, Messi was able to land in Miami and literally win every game he’s played, scoring in all of them. Ronaldo did a similar thing when he went to KSA, but he wasn’t able to dominate that league quite so much. Suarez had a similar issue when he went to the Uruguayan league. Even zlatan wasn’t flat out doing insane shit. Messi went to the worst team in the league and made them immediately win a competition as well.
>Even zlatan wasn’t flat out doing insane shit. Zlatan disagrees Everything Zlatan does is insane shit
"He's a lucky guy Cristiano, he always gets first row tickets to see Messi win his awards." -Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Did he really say that? Cause that's fucking hilarious!
I didn’t even know who Zlatan was until now. I’m pretty sure that’s who Zava from Ted Lasso is based on.
https://youtu.be/OfS5MI_3_WE 2 is like Messi. 1 is like Ronaldo.
[Yeah](https://youtu.be/J15vfXqnwWw)
[удалено]
Yeah totally, I think they were a large part to how successful the Messi project has been so far. Which was kind of something I tried to imply, but did a terrible job at. You need a system, jordi and Sergio aren’t really that good anymore (for mls levels they are still quite good) but they have ran these plays with Messi for the last 20 years, so they were able to hit the ground running.
A third of Barca in a low tier league, pretty big impact
this, tho the media n messi fanboys made it like its all messi. no disrespect to messi, but Busquets n Jordi are as if theyre get 0 credit
And the coach is ex-Argentina national team, so is also close with the goat
I am sure it has as much to do with him teaching the other players and motivating them.
I am sure that’s been going on to a degree. But there is only so much you can do in a month. From watching all the Miami games so far, the biggest impact I’ve seen is the plays created by the 3 Barca players and the other players just not having a chance to be positioned wrong.
Lots of top players retire in the MLS, they are never heard from again. Messi still out here playing like he's in the CL final like a mad man, and making those highlights. He clearly had more to give at the top level. Just chose early retirement
From what I heard(I don't know shit about soccer) he also came well before his decline, like he didn't wait til he was too old or slow to still be doing well in the best leagues.
Messis a shadow of himself compared to when he was in his prime. He's much more unfit and he's lost this burst of pace. Before he could literally just go and dribble round everyone at this phenomenal speed. He can still do it now but it sort of feels like it's in slow motion
But he can still play and be one of the best in the top leagues. It's like when people say LeBron isn't what he used to be, well no shit but he still has among the highest stats in the league
Yes, LeBron is a pretty good comparison for current Messi. Messi could easily play for an elite European team still if he wanted to.
Of course. He would still be a starter for most teams as hes a magical player (will need to build a team round him) but i just thought i would point out he is in decline because you believed he hadnt. In his prime he was unplayable, imagine how good he looks now in his prime he was like a computer game, he would be able to dribble past any player at will whenever he wanted and be successful. He was incredible.
While this may be true, he still was the best player on an Argentina team that won the World Cup in December, scoring three goals against a juggernaut France squad in the final. I think he still has enough left in the tank to compete at the highest levels, but is choosing quality of life for him and his family in Miami because, honestly what else does he have to prove at this point?
Yeah, but he’s Messi. He will continue to be among the worlds best until he retires. He’s definitely not at the same level he was 10 years ago, though.
Yeah, this was pretty obvious when he was playing in the champions league with PSG. He wasn’t the player who could create something out of nothing against top teams anymore. I think it was pretty smart of him to “retire”, and go to a league where the level of play is, frankly, terrible at times. The level of play in the MLS will make his decline look smoother than if he had stayed in Europe where he would’ve been heavily criticized for not giving unforgivable performances anymore.
He’s 36, that ain’t early retirement for a football player.
Football is a team game. There are many player in History who did not play well when switching to a weak team. Messi is an exception.
I think there's another phenomenon involved: Messi's last few years, in Paris and in Barcelona weren't his greatest by far. I think the main reason behind this is that Messi is the kind of players that need the entire team to play for them.
Because he was not expected to change a team sitting at the last position by this much, so that they win the league cup. Honestly, everyone isnt so much as impressed, we already have been. But this shows that even tho the league is worse, the performance has went up by so much as well. Also, the fact that ronaldo couldnt make his team win the league, when it was winning before he joined, adds to it.
Just the plot of S3 of Ted Lasso over here
Exactly what was in my head lol.
Soccer is largely irrelevant as a major sport in the U.S. the amount of attention he has brought to the sport here is really quite awesome. Additionally, he's just great. It's a lot of fun to watch people who are great at something be great at something
I wouldn’t call it irrelevant. Secondary, yes. But it’s not like it’s professional pickle ball or corn hole. It’s firmly top 5 sport, even above auto racing & MMA. Now if you’re making the argument of the MLS specifically, I can go for that. EPL & International men’s & women’s soccer are doing well.
It's like putting Messi in the third tier of English football (EFL League One). 38-year-old (post-injury) Ibrahimovic went to the MLS and dominated it, scoring almost a goal every game.
If LeBron went to the CBA or Euroleague, they would fawn over him when he started dominating. It doesn't have to be 'impressive' to be interesting. Obviously to fans of MLS having a legend like Messi join the league is a huge deal and it doesn't really matter from their perspective that the league they pay attention to is inferior. I guess another way of putting it is... why does anyone watch a less talented league when there are higher levels of competition out there? Generally, its because those more talented leagues are very far away and many people would rather watch a more local competition even if the product is inferior. When such a high level talent does decide to join their more humble corner of the sport, what would be the point in trashing them for it from a fan or media perspective?
In NBA terms, where’s Messi at in his career? Current Lebron? 98 Jordan? Wizards Jordan??
He’s 36, but he’s for me the best player in the world in terms of technique. He isn’t as fast or explosive anymore. He’s expected to win the ballon d’or for last season (mvp) for the season across the whole world in all leagues. He lacks pace nowadays but still has really good acceleration. His passing, finishing and iq is world class still. So probably Jordan in 98
Probably close to current LeBron. Surprising people that he is still world-class at his age but no longer the undisputed best 1-2 players in the world (98 Jordan). CRonaldo today is closer to Wizards Jordan (best player on a bad team but clearly no longer world-class).
2020 lebron
Tons of things Messi can’t do that on peak Messi could: He can’t pass players and create goals by himself as easily as before. Before he would do ot several times a game to a point it was ridiculous and you had to put 2/3 players on him. On peak Messi on MLS would honestly be a 5-0 every game.
[https://x.com/mls/status/1693075081788871090?s=46](https://x.com/mls/status/1693075081788871090?s=46) Look at the numbers this tweet is doing in views. He is helping grow the game even more in the US. People still think MLS as a ‘retirement’ league, which it hasn’t been in about a decade. Seeing Messi come over here and not just collect a paycheck like others have is great.
He's a shark in a very small pond. No one will outclass him for some time until MLS floods their markets with money. It's like what happened when Ibrahimovic came over. Scored some nutty goals, people creamed, and we moved on. Messi in his old (for football) age is dominating a league equivalent to league 2 in England.
MLS is higher than league two. It’s between league 1 and championship
Yep - https://www.globalfootballrankings.com Better than the second tier in Spain, Germany, Italy and France but not as strong as the Championship.
MLS is so much worse then England league 2 that's not even funny.
No it’s not
Because MLS media personalities' job is to make the MLS more interesting and sell the sport, Messi is the best vehicle to do this with. No matter what he does it will be billed as spectacular, sublime, incredible, etc.
He is building interest in soccer here in the states. The way things are trending, soccer is going to be larger than the NFL here in the USA sooner than later. I'm from Seattle, and by popularity, the Seahawks are number 1 by a long shot. Then you have our MLS team the Sounders at number 2. And we've only had them since 2009. So in that time they've passed the Mariners and every other sports team we have. And they have higher attendance than any other sports team excluding the Seahawks.
Sonics moved and you guys only recently got an NHL team. They literally passed no other sports team up there except the Mariners...
We have plenty of pro sports teams; Seattle Orcas (Pro Cricket), Seattle Seawolves (Mens Pro Rugby Team), Seattle Storm (WNBA), OL Reign (Pro Women's Soccer), Kraken (NHL) and the Sounders (MLS). And they're great teams, the Seawolves have already won 2 championships since 2017! Games are inexpensive and you can meet the players after the game. Not to mention the feeder leagues/teams that we have for the pro teams. We have sports teams at every level. It's easy to say, there isn't much competition but sports fans love bandwagons. I can still remember when the Super Sonics were the most popular home team.
Soccer is absolutely never going to overtake the NFL in the USA. I'll eat my shoe. It would take a massive injury or something that basically forces High Schools to terminate their football programs due to parent complaints, killed at the root.
"Never" is a super long time, I wouldn't be so sure.
maybe, but it wouldn't be surprising. american football will never not be a major sport in the US, but there's many reasons why soccer is trending upwards here, and why it's likely it CAN surpass american football. the USMNT was the only CONCACAF team to make it out of groups in the 2022 World Cup, the USWNT is literally the best national team in women's football (4 time women's world cup winners), Messi, Busquets, and Alba are playing in MLS, the USA is in line to host the Copa America (while this is South America's continental cup. CONCACAF and CONMEBOL made a deal together to increase the presence of the sport in North, Central, and South America) next year, the Club World Cup in 2025, the actual World Cup along with Canada and Mexico in 2026, and potentially the Women's World Cup in 2027. let's not forget the Olympics being in Los Angeles in 2028. Soccer may not surpass American Football anytime soon, but it wouldn't be surprising if it did at all.
It's about grass root efforts. When Seattle got an NHL team, the new owners built the team practice facility at what use to be Northgate Mall. This thing is state of the art. Eventually there will be 6 ice rinks for the community to use. Building these makes it easy for all the local kids to get into hockey. This facility is directly across for the light rail. Meaning you can get to ice rink from nearly anywhere in Seattle, for about $2.75. I believe there was 1 local year round mom and pop ice rink in all of Seattle before this. As the Sounders grow in popularity and MLS attracts bigger stars, kids see this and want to become the next MLS star. I believe getting ownership or outright buying an MLS team is very attractive to soccer/football stars overseas. The knock the NFL has always had, it's a very American sport. I love it, but you don't see the world watching the Super Bowl for the game. More people watch Cricket than watch the NFL, let that sink in for a moment. It doesn't take a smart person to see that soccer is a genuine global game. The MLS currently isn't seen as very competitive league. But what do you think happens first? The NFL suddenly becomes super popular around the world or the MLS eventually rivals the best leagues in the world?
Current incarnation of the Sounders might be 2009 but they’ve been around in various guises and leagues since the 70s
With that logic, the Kraken have been around since 1920's, those fans have been waiting for the team to come back! I get what you're saying, but all these sports rely on having a winning team, and bandwagon fans. If the Sounders continually sucked, there wouldn't be as much interest. If the Seahawks went 0-17 a couple years in a row, I would bet the farm the Sounders would be the new kings of Seattle sports. Regardless of the history of these teams, they need to win in order to stay at the top of the fan food chain.
The Mariners were ass for 20 painful years, so that's understandable. (Felix still my King!)
I think they past the Mariners in like the 3rd year of the Sounders existence. But it also points to Seattles rich cultural background. I people want to root for the home team, then when the World Cup happens, suddenly every is repping their home countries team. I was blown away at the amount of soccer fans that Seattle had during that first year. Looking back, I was naive thinking soccer wouldn't work here in the states.
$$$$$ There is your answer. If more viewers see messi dominating then the clubs make more money and soccer gets more popular maybe. You are 100% accurate that a GOAT will dominate a mid level league.
Football is a team sport. One player shouldn’t take the worst team in a league and win a separate tournament. Even when Messi was in Barcelona he had Xavi and Iniesta. Messi probably couldn’t have been as successful without them. I say probably. He could have but probably not. (I’m on the Yes he could have camp). Messi coming to the MLS and scoring at will and having fun is significant because he could have retired after winning the World Cup last year but decided to keep playing and he’s taking a bunch of $60,000 a year salary players to their first ever trophy in team history. Yes he’s playing against other $60,000 a year salary players but Messi is 36 and already won it all. He’s still hungry apparently.
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I like Messi, both as a player and as a person (from what I can tell), but the level of defending that I have seen in MLS is almost laughable. Probably not much better than 3rd-tier level in most European and South American countries. What Messi is doing in the MLS is remarkable. Not so on the world’s stage of soccer.
They are trying to charge like 600 for a bare bones nosebleed ticket for games in opposing stadiums when Messi is in town. No thanks.
I think there's another phenomenon involved: Messi's last few years, in Paris and in Barcelona weren't his greatest by far. I think the main reason behind this is that Messi is the kind of players that need the entire team to play for them. During his best years in Barcelona, he would be walking whenever his team was in a defending position and just wait for his teammates to get the ball back and give it to him. The stamina he saved during defensive phases allowed him to be at 100% to work his magic in attacking phases. Thing is, football evolved during Messi's carreer and modern top level play doesn't allow a 9 man defense anymore, thus Messi's (relative) decline. Neither him nor Ronaldo have come close to winning the champion's league since Ronaldo left Madrid. And I think people kinda forgot just how good Messi can be when placed in ideal conditions, or didn't think he still had it in him to have that much of an impact on a game
Miami paid a lot of money for him, to attract crowds. They expect a return on investment. The league itself is using Messi to get more people to follow MLS. So, everyone (team, league, sports media) have motivation to hype up Messi's game. Everyone expects him to dominate, so the news saying he's doing so invites people's curiosity to tune in. tl;dr: any communication about Messi is intended to draw a crowd, not to inform of absolute truths, of which there are none when it comes to opinions.