Former Brazil midfielder, Felipe Melo has named Argentina’s Lionel Messi among three best players in football history.
Melo put the Inter Miami captain on the same pedestal as late legends, football icons Pele and Diego Maradona.
Messi is going strong for club and country despite being on the wrong side of 30.
Having led Argentina to their third World Cup title last year in Qatar, the 36-year-old recently won a record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or award in 2023.
“Brazil play against the world champion, and they have Messi, who for me is the best player in history with Pele and Maradona.” Melo said (as per Ole).
“Messi doesn’t have the speed he had a few years ago, but he has much more vision of the game.
“Messi is still the best player in the world. It is crazy, it is awesome.”
Spanish giants, Barcelona have expressed their intention to appeal against the two-game ban handed to star forward, Lionel Messi.
Messi was shown a red card in the 120th minute of their Super Cup final against eventual winners Athletic Bilbao, and has been punished for it.
The Argentine was sent off after he appeared to swing at Bilbao’s Asier Villalibre. It was his first-ever red card in his Barcelona career.
Barcelona say they will appeal against the suspension, which was handed out by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
Barcelona made thier intention to appeal the ban known on their official website on Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, Messi could have gotten up to 12 weeks suspension had the Committee described the incident as ‘aggression’, instead it was reported as ‘violence during play’.
The referee’s report described Messi’s actions as “striking an opponent with his arm with excessive force while the ball was in play but not within a playable distance”.
The two-game suspension means Messi is set to miss Thursday’s Copa del Rey last-32 tie at Cornella and Sunday’s La Liga match away to Elche.
A six-time Ballon d’Or winner continues to see questions asked of his future, with a former team-mate saying we may never see another like him
Lionel Messi needs to be treated in a “very special way” at Barcelona, says Ivan Rakitic, with a former team-mate of the mercurial Argentine admitting that a player of his ilk may never be seen again.
A standing among the all-time greats has already been secured by a six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
At 33 years of age, though, it is yet to be determined where the final chapters of a remarkable career will be written.
Barca are hoping to see a one-club man extend his association with them beyond the summer of 2021, but exit thoughts have already been formed.
A presidential election is set to be held at Camp Nou before then, as Josep Maria Bartomeu is forced out amid a vote of no confidence, and it may be that change leads Messi to reconsider his options.
Rakitic hopes that proves to be the case, with the ex-Blaugrana midfielder aware of the need for those in Catalunya to handle a mercurial talent with care.
He told Muchodeporte: “Players of that level are different from everyone else and the other players have to take care of them in a very special way because of their ability to make a difference.
“We do not know if in the future we will be lucky enough to see a footballer like Leo again.”
He has told Radio Marca: “In my opinion, Messi has to stay at Barcelona and not with history. It’s not good for anyone.
“In the end, it’s Messi who decides [his future]. I very much doubt that Messi wanted to leave Barcelona [in the summer].
“I wouldn’t pull out all the stops for Messi.”
Former Barca boss Quique Setien, who was relieved of his duties over the summer, has told El Pais that Messi can be “difficult to manage”, given his standing in the global game.
The U.S. men’s national team star admitted he had some communication issues during his first Barca appearance
Sergino Dest admitted he didn’t understand a single instruction from Lionel Messi during his Barcelona debut on Sunday, although the U.S. men’s national team star believes he’s off to a good start with his new teammate.
The former Ajax fullback made his first Barca appearance during the club’s 1-1 draw with Sevilla, coming off the bench to replace Jordi Alba.
De la Fuente was also named to the bench on Sunday, but it was Dest who made his debut, becoming the first American to ever appear for Barca in an official match.
And, after the game, Dest admitted that it was special to play alongside Messi, even if the two still have some communication issues to work out.
“Today I saw everyone, Messi too,” Dest told Dutch outlet NOS. “Messi doesn’t speak English, but it was very special to meet him.
“If I’m honest, I don’t know what he told me, but we were both smiling, so everything must be fine, right?”
The 19-year-old defender made 35 appearances across all competitions while also earning three caps for the USMNT, confirming his allegiance to the U.S. by turning down overtures from the Netherlands.
Coincidentally, Dest is now managed by Ronald Koeman, who was in charge of the Netherlands team he rejected.
“I chose Barcelona because I have always dreamed of playing for Barca,” he said.
“Ronaldinho is my idol and a legend at this club. When I found out about Barca’s interest, I didn’t have to think twice.”
Barca currently sit fifth in La Liga, having earned seven points through three games to start the campaign.
Next up for the club is a visit to Getafe following the international break with the club then turning focus towards a Champions League clash with Hungarian side Ferencvaros.
“Bayern are a great club and there was interest from them, but I followed what my heart told me to and for that I signed for Barca. I think it was the right decision,” Dest told a news conference.
“They are a club with so much history and I’ve always wanted to play here.”
Dest is naturally relishing the prospect of playing alongside Messi, who opted to remain at the club for another season after a failed attempt to invoke a clause allowing him to leave for free.
“It’s amazing to play with the best player in the world, Lionel Messi, I looked up to him,” Dest added.
“I will run as much as I have to, I will run for everybody in the team. It will be so exciting to meet the best player in the world.”
Dest is the first American to play for Barca, joining youth-team player Konrad de la Fuente at Camp Nou. Born to a Dutch mother and a Surinamese-American father in Almere, he elected to represent United States over Netherlands.
But he still cited Koeman, who left his post as Netherlands boss to take over Barca following Quique Setien’s exit, as a factor in his decision.
“Koeman of course was an influence, because he’s Dutch and it will be easier to communicate with him,” Dest said.
As for his inspiration, Dest is looking to emulate Dani Alves, who was the right-back for Barca in each of their treble-winning sides under Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.
Dest, who could make his debut against Sevilla on Sunday, explained: “If I can play this Sunday, it would be great, because I want to start as soon as possible.
“My role model was Dani Alves, a really good player at right-back, same position. Watching his clips on YouTube, I learned a lot from him and I can still learn a lot from him because his team-mates are over here like Lionel Messi and I can ask for advice. I want to be a player similar like him.”
A Camp Nou colleague of the mercurial Argentine claims to have seen no dip from the South American on the back of his efforts to leave the club
Lionel Messi may have wanted out of Barcelona over the summer but he is now “fired up” and “working his socks off” for the good of the collective cause at Camp Nou, says Sergi Roberto.
A testing end to the 2019-20 campaign saw the six-time Ballon d’Or winner push for the exits in Catalunya.
Messi had grown disillusioned with life at the only club side he has represented in a remarkable career to date.
A path leading elsewhere was to be blocked off, though, and the decision was ultimately taken to stay put and honour the final year of his contract – with that revelation made in an exclusive interview with Goal.
There was never any danger of Messi downing tools at Barca, with competitive spirit very much part of his makeup.
Roberto sees a talismanic figure giving his all in the pursuit of major honours, telling reporters after a 3-0 victory over Celta: “Leo is really fired up, he ran so much and worked his socks off for the team. It’s important that he’s playing with so much desire.”
The highly-rated youngster was on target again in his latest outing, with Roberto adding: “Ansu is young, playing, scoring goals and I’m really happy for him, I hope he continues doing that.”
Positivity is starting to flow again at Camp Nou, with Koeman helping to banish the memories of a humbling 8-2 Champions League defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich which brought Barca’s 2019-20 campaign and the reign of Quique Setien to a close.
Roberto said of the current mood: “You can see how united we are. We showed it in the first game and again [versus Celta].
“We couldn’t go into games like we were.
“We worked really hard in pre-season, in every training session and you can see that in the games.”
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will face off for the first time since the latter’s move to Turin from Real Madrid two years ago
Barcelona will face Juventus in the group stage of the Champions League after they were paired together in Group G in the draw, which took place in Geneva on Thursday.
The heavyweight fixture will see Cristiano Ronaldo come up against Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi for the first time since his move to Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018.
The two men, who have shared 11 of the last 12 Ballon d’Or awards between them, enjoyed a historic rivalry in La Liga, and will resume hostilities in Europe’s elite competition next month.
Barca and Juve have been joined in Group G by Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros, the Hungarian outfit who beat Celtic en-route to qualifying for the main draw for the first time in their history.
Meanwhile, Manchester United‘s return to the Champions League has been marked with a draw against last year’s Champions League finalists PSG, RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir in Group H.
Reigning champions Bayern Munich will play Atletico Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow in Group A for a place in the knockout stages, having got their hands on the trophy for the sixth time by beating PSG 1-0 in Lisbon on August 23.
Group D will see 2018 winners Liverpool, who suffered a surprise early exit at the hands of Atletico last term, square off against Ajax, Atalanta and Midtjylland.
Manchester City were handed a more favourable draw against Porto, Olympiacos and Marseille in Group C, as they bid to win the competition for the first time in their history once again.
The last English side to qualify from the Premier League were Chelsea, who will play Europa League winners Sevilla, Krasnodar and Rennes, who will be making their first appearance on Europe’s biggest stage, in Group E.
In Group F, Zenit St Petersburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio and Club Brugge will do battle, with the 2020-21 edition of the Champions League set to kick off on October 20/21, with fixtures continuing through to early December to decide who will reach the last 16 stage.
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