Messi's performances for PSG have proven what we've known all along: that he could not do it on cold Sunday night in Stoke.
He can't do shit in the weak farmers league that is Ligue 1, let alone in the Premiership. Defenders here aren't softies like in La Liga.
And Messi can't adapt to a different playing system than his disgusting tiki taka.
He's overrated !!!
I agree.
What you say might be a bit over the top - but ultimately some fell in love with the pure technical ability of Messi whilst others fell in love with the mental ability of Ronaldo to do it for any team, under any league, under any manager under any tactics that didn't even properly get the best out of him. The guy is now doing better in the hardest league in the world, under the worst manager of the Premiership, under a team that has no tactical style to their play.
That's ultimately what Barcelona was for Messi - it was a place he could show and be the amazing technical ability god of this world. He was playing with a Barcelona team that after Pep's tenure had the possesion game stitched in to their DNA that you saw it under other managers. Players like Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Pique, Puyol and others were there for varying times, playing the Barcelona football for the Spain National team - able to play to a pure template that made the football look extremely simplified yet perfect and a rhythm "on the floor" that Messi's was just the cherry on top of the cake, doing skilkfull stuff like juggling the ball above the goalkeeper before smashing the goal in.
An absolutely wonderful goal but do I see him doing and scoring those goals for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United even at his prime? Not really. Should he do better in Ligue 1 with a manager like Pochettino when playing with players like Neymar, mbappe, verrati and others - people may make excuses now but yes he should be doing better.
Maybe it's too early to talk like this, all he needs is one goal in the whole rest of the season - in the PSG UCL Final and people will talk about how much of a success he has been; you see this with how they talk about his one CL goal vs City so far. You can't really complain at that point.
It's too early to talk - but I think people like me and you are just generally seeing what we always knew, some players can be the best when the team that's been built to play a type of football that only enhances your abilities as a footballer - Messi would look better as a part of Barcelona than a part of Stoke football team because of how Barcelona plays their football even without Messi. Then theirs the way the whole league plays their football, how La Liga chooses to defend, impose their physicality, or even chooses to attack in a more technical way than a physical way (what level the ball is kept at etc) will ultimately help how Barcelona have to defend themselves and have the ability to play a counter attack anyway isn't it?
Anyway, it's too soon. He can have some time to adapt to PSG and all he really needs is to score a single goal in the UCL Final for him to look like a success story again.
However, I've heard rumours that Messi might have a transfer back to Barcelona in the up and coming future - that would be disssapointing.
