Lionel Messi is one of the greatest footballers to
have played the beautiful game. The Argentine set
records tumbling over the years and we can expect
more of the same from him. Even after all his
achievements there are doubters who suggest that
the Barcelona man needs to prove himself with
other teams or in other leagues.
Here are five reasons why Messi doesn’t need to
leave Barcelona to prove his greatness.


#5 He has broken the myth of his over dependency on Xavi
and Iniesta
Contrary to popular arguments, Xavi or Iniesta do
not assist a major chunk of Messi’s goals
It is a popular argument that Leo Messi scores so
many goals because he plays along with Xavi and
Iniesta. This can easily be countered when you look
at the number of goals scored by Messi that are
assisted by the Spanish duo. In fact during Messi’s
record breaking year when he scored 91 goals in a
calendar year to break Gerd Muller’s record, he was
assisted eight times by Iniesta and five times by
Xavi
. He was also assisted by 16 other players.
14/91 goals doesn’t seem like a big figure does it?
Some might even argue that assists alone cannot
determine the impact Xavi or Iniesta has on Messi’s
game. That’s a fair point and this is where you look
at Messi’s performances for Argentina.
In the past there were claims that he couldn’t
replicate his Barcelona form with his national side,
but the captain proved his doubters wrong. In the
year 2012, Messi equaled Batistuta’s record of 12
goals in a calendar year for Argentina . He continued
down the same path in 2013 and 2014. He played a
major role in Argentina’s road to the final during
the World Cup and he didn’t have Xavi or Iniesta to
depend on.

#4 Even the legendary Pele only played for Santos and New
York Cosmos
Pele is considered to be one of the greatest players
ever, even though he played majority of his club
career in Brazil
Pele is considered to be one of the greatest
footballers of all time or in fact ‘the’ greatest. The
legendary Brazilian never played for a club in
Europe. He spent 18 years of his career playing for
Santos in Brazil and then another two years for New
York Cosmos.
Other famous players like Paolo Maldini or Francesco
Torri or Steven Gerrard or Ryan Giggs or Paul
Scholes have all played for a single club throughout
their career and they are all considered to be
among few of the best of their generations.
This further emphasizes the point that playing for
one club throughout a player’s career or for a major
part of their career doesn’t take anything away
from what they have achieved.


#3 Messi has already performed against the top teams from
the top leagues around Europe
Messi scored a goal in the final of the 2011
Champions League, against Manchester United.
Messi doesn’t need to move to a different league or
club to prove he is one of the best in the world. The
champions league is a battle ground where the best
in Europe face each other and Lionel Messi has
proved himself on the biggest stage in club football
on several occasions.
Messi has scored against teams like Bayern Munich,
Manchester United, Arsenal, AC Milan, Manchester
City, PSG and Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA
Champions League. These teams are or were
arguably the best in their league when Leo Messi
and Barcelona played them. In fact both of Messi’s
goals against Manchester United came in the final
of the tournament.
Again some would argue that Messi has never
scored against Chelsea, but that is in no way a
measure of a player’s greatness.


#2 He has surpassed the records of renowned players.
Messi has broken numerous records in his career
and set new ones as well. Players like Thierry Henry,
Ronaldinho and Samel Eto’o have also played for
Barcelona, but none of them were able to even come
close to Messi’s record breaking spree. This alone is
a testament of the player’s skill and caliber.
The 27 year old is already the all-time leading goal
scorer for Barcelona. He has scored 356 goals for
them in 384 appearances. Messi is also the leading
scorer in El Clasicos , if that game is not challenging
enough to test a player like Messi, I don’t know what
is. He has scored 21 times in this fixture so far,
breaking the record of the late Di Stefano (18). Real
Madrid’s icon Raul is third in the list with 15 goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo on the other hand is 7th in the list
with 13 goals and Messi has at least 5 or 6 good
years of football left in him.
Messi is second in the list of all-time leading scorers
in the UEFA Champions League. He is tied with
Cristiano Ronaldo on 67 goals. Messi though has a
better goals to game ratio of 0.78 compared to
Ronaldo’s 0.65. Even if Ronaldo is the first one to
break Raul’s record of 71 goals, Messi can still catch
up to and break that record as he is almost 2 years
younger to Ronaldo.
The biggest record that the Barcelona man has set
has to be his 91 goals in a calendar year , breaking
Gerd Muller’s 40 year old record of 85 goals.
He has also won the Ballon d’Or a record 4 times! In
March 2013 Messi had set or broken a whopping 125
records !
What more does Messi need to do to prove his
greatness? Leave Barcelona?


#1 Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi vs Ronaldo has to be one of the biggest
individual battles in football. It is a never ending
debate.
Real Madrid is one of the best teams in the World
and their rivalry with Barcelona is unmatched. So
when these two teams play, it will put even the best
of players under pressure and there cannot be a
better game to shine and prove you are the best.
Moreover when Ronaldo plays in the same league, it
is best that Messi plays in the same one in an
opposite team so that the world can see these two
great players go head to head and fight it out on
the pitch every year.

source: m.sportskeeda.com/slideshow/5-reasons-messi-leave-barcelona-greatness

Messi is one of
the best players in the world and has nothing left to
prove...hala da magician!!!

Most of the records Messi has broken has all been done in Laliga and that the more reason he should try himself in another club lets see.Ronaldo on the other hand has played in three major leagues across Europe and he has been successful in all.Laliga it'self is considered one of the easiest league to play compared to Seria A,Bundesliga and the EPL.

Scholes, Gerrard and Giggs play(ed) in EPL where defenders don't smile. did u see the welcome gift burnley gave Di Maria? It's easier for messi to score 91 goals and win ballon d'or 4 times becos :-
1. he is a striker, ronaldo is a winger.
2. he plays in barca with d best midfielders in the world with a tactic dat can frustrate any team except 4 stubborn teams.
3. barca has a better team work unlike madrid that is full of individual players.
4. barca has 1 major goal scorer(messi) and when he is not fit dey always have problem to win even when playing small teams but madrid have 3 major goal scorers(ronaldo, bale and benzema) and when ronaldo is not fit, dey can still beat any team(last season copa del rey final showed that).

They are both great players and the argument about who is better will last forever just like pele/maradona argument. Everyone picks who is better based on their opinion which isn't a bad thing.

As for me I would pick ronaldo becos he won ballon d'or in EPL which isn't easy at all.

Princecalm: Most of the records Messi has broken has all been done in Laliga and that the more reason he should try himself in another club lets see.Ronaldo on the other hand has played in three major leagues across Europe and he has been successful in all.Laliga it'self is considered one of the easiest league to play compared to Seria A,Bundesliga and the EPL.

EPL fan boy

hemor: Scholes, Gerrard and Giggs play(ed) in EPL where defenders don't smile. did u see the welcome gift burnley gave Di Maria? It's easier for messi to score 91 goals and win ballon d'or 4 times becos :-
1. he is a striker, ronaldo is a winger.
2. he plays in barca with d best midfielders in the world with a tactic dat can frustrate any team except 4 stubborn teams.
3. barca has a better team work unlike madrid that is full of individual players.
4. barca has 1 major goal scorer(messi) and when he is not fit dey always have problem to win even when playing small teams but madrid have 3 major goal scorers(ronaldo, bale and benzema) and when ronaldo is not fit, dey can still beat any team(last season copa del rey final showed that).

They are both great players and the argument about who is better will last forever just like pele/maradona argument. Everyone picks who is better based on their opinion which isn't a bad thing.

As for me I would pick ronaldo becos he won ballon d'or in EPL which isn't easy at all.

Ronaldo isn't a winger, he averages more shots per game and offsides than most strikers, including Benzema. Ronaldo practically plays as a striker for Madrid.

Let him come to epl. Dat where football rocks best. Dazall