The Barcelona star is great, no doubt. But is he as great as you think?



1. If we rate player according to the mojo they bring to the game, Messi cannot ace Ronaldinho and Jay Jay Okocha. He cannot even come close to Ronaldo De Lima or Zinedine Zidane. No way.



2. If we rate players by the number of FIFA World Cup trophies, Messi would be in the same category with Yakubu Aiyegbeni of Nigeria who has never won one.


Aiyegbeni’s epic miss at the 2002 World Cup


3. If we rate players based on nations cup like trophies, Messi should be doing ‘yes, boss’ to Cristiano Ronaldo.



CR7 led Portugal to the 2016 European Championship title, something Messi has been unable to do for Argentina in South Africa


4. If we rate players based on the number of goals scored, here’s how Messi would rank:
Arthur Friedenreich – 1, 329 goals
Pele – 1,281 goals
Josef Bican – 805 goals
Romario – 743 goals
Gerd Muller – 711 goals
Ferenc Puskas – 700 goals
Eusebio – 621 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo – 600 goals
Ferenc Deak – 576 goals
Messi – 565 goals
Based on these facts, rating Messi above others players mentioned here is tantamount to overrating Messi.

Messi is great. Sure. But is he the greatest? Is he better than Ronaldo?