₦airaland Forum

Someone should please recommend a link where I can watch this match na.

Where are you guys watching it?

A professional veteran. He was embroiled in a tussle with MD, Uzoma Dozie just before Diamond bank was acquired by Access bank.

RIP Sir.

Erstwhile chairman of Diamond Bank Board of Directors, Mr. Seyi Bickersteth is dead.

According to multiple sources, Mr Seyi was found dead in his Ikoyi apartment. The cause of his death is yet to be unravelled as at the time of reporting this.

Until his death, Mr Bickersteth was a Regional Managing Partner and Chairman of Andersen Tax, Africa. According to his LinkedIn profile, he started his career at Arthur Andersen as a partner and rose through the echelons to his most recent position, in a career that spanned over forty years.

Mr Bickersteth is an alumnus of the famous University of Ibadan and York University, Canada where he obtained a Bachelor`s and Masters’ degrees in Economics respectively. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (FCTI).

Mr Bickersteth was most remembered for his pioneering role as a team leader of Arthur Anderson team in the 1988 International Merchant Bank (IMB) restructuring exercise. He served in various leadership positions and Boards in top firms like; KPMG, ARM and the defunct Diamond Bank.

Nairametrics had earlier reported the resignation of Mr Bickersteth from the Board of Diamond Bank in 2018.

Details of his burial and other relevant information will be subsequently communicated.

Source: https://nairametrics.com/2021/03/03/ex-diamond-bank-chairman-seyi-bickersteth-is-dead/

ojaysam25:
Do you know better than BBC...

Lol, OJ my friend, even ESPN has been known to make statistical errors publicly of recent. Maybe it's the Ronaldo fans among them

Seriously though, no organization is above mistake. Please fact-check and confirm as I don't want to spam this thread with Messi's statistics from 2008 till date.

ojaysam25:
You dont understand, ask question rather than been quick to downplay ones achievement out of hatred...messi score 20+ goals in 12 consecutive season last season whereas ronaldo milestone Is for League matches only...just congratulate him and move on.

Bros no hatred here, just don't like anyone peddling misinformation. I repeat that Messi's milestone last season was for 20+ league goals in 12 consecutive seasons, therefore it is not a record for Ronaldo anymore this season as is being pushed forward. Is this so hard to understand?

ojaysam25:
The record is for goals score in League matches only....ronaldo still held the overall record scoring 20+ in 15 consecutive season.

Didn't say it wasn't for league matches only. What I was highlighting was that it wasn't a record as the record was already set last year.

League goals determine the European golden boot, so don't get why you are now trying to downplay it once the misrepresentation was exposed. Regardless, this thread was about league goals and not overall season goals.

Great achievement from CR7.

But he didn't raise any bar. Messi already scored his 12th consecutive 20-goal+ season last year. With one more goal by the end of this week, Messi will be the one actually raising the bar with his 13th consecutive 20+goal season.

False-statspadding FC take note

Godarz:
Then you should stop complaining about poor services since Nigeria has

1. A low tax rate

2. A low percentage of people paying taxes(I forgot to add this)

To provide the revenue for things to run well.

When less than 30% of the economically active people are paying taxes and oil is not high enough for us plus corruption is there to compound matters what do you expect?

You cannot buy a car at the cost of a bicycle

Oga, we don't have a low tax rate. 30% corporate tax on profits is not low at all and compares favorably with majority of tax regimes across the world. At personal level, our tax rate ranges from 7 - 24% depending on the income level. And this is also competitive across national jurisdictions. Stop misleading people with false assertions.

It's not true that Oil is not enough for us. Remove that Corruption first and see whether we won't have enough to at least ensure decent social welfare and infrastructure. But as you see, since the deceptive Govt is too cowardly to tackle corruption, they then go for the low hanging fruit - tax Nigerians more.

The under-taxed informal sector is the least of our problems.

Godarz:
And the only way to stimulate productivity is by raising taxes so that money exists to be able to build the infrastructure we want.

Plus, if you want functioning power, we cannot be producing power at N53 per kwh and selling it at N20-30 per kwh or N51 per kwh and expect power companies to make the profit they need to make improvements

Same thing for fuel...we cannot be selling fuel at a lower price than the cost of its production which is what we did for years till all our refineries went to the dust.

Everything costs something. I hate the idea, but it is sadly a fact.

We can't run a produictve economy when we keep on using the we are poor excuse to keep fixing prcies...driving away the agents that are needed for icnreased productivity in the first place.

Lol, Did you really say that (in bolded)?

You mean if you live in an household where your family's total annual income is N500,000, and you guys need to contribute to get a family car worth N2million to make movement easier for you all - assuming only you started contributing first - will you keep saying all the other family members should contribute more out of their meager salaries so you can buy the car?

Is the sensible thing not to first look for ways to augment your family income stream from external initiatives, after which you can then bill yourselves?

I give up on you bro.

9jaRealist:
I am reasonably certain NEITHER OF US are aware of what’s happening “behind the scenes” (otherwise, it wouldn’t be behind the scenes)...

People keep using the term license as if it is a restriction, but it’s merely the most basic of administrative processes. In other words, to do business anywhere in almost any industry, one has to be registered or licensed. The more substantive point is that sugar production in Nigeria is NOT restricted to only Dangote, BUA and Flour Mills. Have ever heard of Josepdam? The Josepdam Group used to produce sugar from the old Bacita Sugar Company in Kwara State, until AMCON took over control of its operations a few years ago on account of its many non-performing loans. Nigeria imports probably over 80% of its sugar requirements, that as recently as last year (just prior to the pandemic), the Sugar Development Council was marketing 11 potential new sugar production sites to foreign and domestic investors. At the moment, both the Bank of Industry and the Bank of Agriculture each have a dedicated single-digit interest rate loan program dedicated solely for potential investors in sugar production. Accordingly, it is quite ridiculous for anyone to classify sugar production in Nigeria as restricted.

I suspect that some folks are confused about the sugar Backward Integration Program (BIP). The BIP applies to companies that were already refining raw sugar in Nigeria. These companies previously imported raw sugar (principally from Brazil) and then refined them locally. Under the BIP, the government decided to incentivize to backwardly-integrate. In other words, to grow raw sugarcane, process and refined it domestically, and in the process save the MILLIONS of foreign currency that is expended on the importation of raw sugar which props up foreign producers and foreign jobs, and to create TENS OF THOUSANDS OF JOBS IN NIGERIA FOR NIGERIANS along the entire sugar production value chain. When the BIP was initiated there were only three sugar refiners in Nigeria - Dangote, BUA and Flour Mills (Golden Sugar) - and these companies therefore became part of the program. Pretty certain that if/when there are new/additional refiners, they will similarly enjoy the same BIP incentives (tax, etc.).

Furthermore, on the subject of Pioneer Status Incentive (PSI), where on earth did you get the idea that it is peculiar or special to Dangote and BUA? In the most recent PSI Report issued by NIPC (Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission) in November 2020, covering the period ended Q3 2020, Lafarge (the other major cement producer in Nigeria, and of course part of the world’s BIGGEST cement producer) also enjoys PSI incentives, along with at least 37 other businesses across different sectors and industries (with reportedly up to 60 or so applications in process). Accordingly, it is either disingenuous or plain dishonest for folks to posit that Dangote and BUA are being accorded preferential treatment in this regard. The PSI merely seeks to incentivize investors to take the considerable risk (security, political, business and such other risks) of investing in Nigeria, and lessen their tax burden in reward for creating TENS OF THOUSANDS OF JOBS IN NIGERIA FOR NIGERIANS!

Finally, as I noted elsewhere, Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar, BUA Cement, and Flour Mills are all PUBLICLY-LISTED on the local bourse (the NSE), and if folks truly believe they are rolling in it, simply go buy their shares and share in both the RISKS and rewards!
>

Your submissions would have been spot on if the schemes were working in practice exactly as you have stated up there in principle/theoretically. I don't want to believe you will be that naive as to believe all Nigerian businesses have equal opportunity to access Government support. The author of the initial write-up has exposed the problems beleaguering the sugar BIP scheme, how it is not delivering on its initial objectives. Bag of local sugar is now N25,000 which is not much different from the price of imported sugar. So how has the scheme saved Nigerians cost in this regard as you are touting in principle?

I did not say only Dangote is enjoying PSI in Nigeria - read well. First, PSI is given only for approved products. When Dangote got his PSI for cement in 2017, cement was not in the approved list of pioneer products. Basically, to grant PSI for cement was illegal as cement was a mature industry by that time. That was why he had to go directly to the Presidency (Abba Kyari) and not through NIPC as there was no legal basis for NIPC to grant the incentive. Is that not leveraging cronyism or preferential treatment? Lafarge (UniCem) got wind of this and also approached the Presidency who could not deny Lafarge since they had just given Dangote. That's what happened. Giving PSI for cement to Dangote and co actually made Nigeria lose tax revenue as the sector no longer needed incentivization which was why it had been removed from the pioneer list.

Godarz:
The problem with Nigeria is that most people don't pay taxes...we have a low tax base...



SAUCE: Nairametrics :Nigeria’s records 6.1 percent tax to GDP as tax base for VAT rise to N23.7 trillion

We might have a low tax base, but has the level of social and capital development even been commensurate with what Nigeria has realized from tax earnings so far?

FYI, Most of the informal sector you talk about earn less than 50,000 a month. When we are globally rated as the poverty capital of the world with over 90million people earning less than 1USD a day, do you expect these 90million people to pay taxes when they can barely survive. Are they not almost up to 50% of the entire population which is a close metric to the untaxed informal sector you talk about?

You cannot simply rely on tax to stimulate productivity. Rather, you need to stimulate productivity to increase your tax base. If more people become wealthy they would become economically visible and the tax authorities can go after them.

Godarz:
And then there is the tax to gdp ratio which in the US is 33%, compared to Nigeria's 6%

Plus, if you are earning below 50000 NAIRA in Nigeria, which includes most minimum wage earners, you are exempt from tax here in this country.

Bros, you don't pay tax out of a vacuum. You are just blabbing looking only at one side of the equation.

You are comparing 6% to 33% in costs.

How about compare minimum wage income of 75USD a month in Nigeria to over 3000USD (@18USD/hr) per month in the US.

Don't you think it's easier to pay 33% of 3000USD when the left over of 2,000USD is still a whopping 27 times the supposedly tax exempt Nigerian min wage of 75USD?

I'd rather earn 20Million Naira and pay 5million naira as tax than to earn 1million naira and be deceiving me that it's tax free. It's common sense.

Also my 5 million will be put to judicious use to provide better social amenities as opposed to the current near non-existent social welfare.

Pls argue intelligently and not mischievously.

;

olatade:
Man had all the time in the world and an empty office in the pandemic to burn the papers.

Couldn't even do that.

When the papers are in the cloud nko ?

Na Messi's head catch you. After your disastrous management, clueless you was now trying to deflect blame for your ineffectiveness onto Messi and co. in a cowardly manner.

You don't attack the GOAT without justification and go scot free.

Righteousness2:
Painful Death of a Vibrant Talented young Man.

Like Play! Like Play, Ay Faboro is Gone!
AY is now a past story!

Death is truly no Respecter of Persons !
Live this life in the Conciousness of Eternity!
Life is too Short when compared to Eternity !

Back in days when boys were living life anyhow on the Fast lane, we had sometimes together

Lol, our resident pastor don rock life before o. Can't help but be curious about how fast was this lane you towed before. Me thinking could be all the wayy, wayyy, wayyyy.

9jaRealist:
First, with all due respect, some of you need to get out more, because Nigerian cement is among the CHEAPEST on the continent (and btw, Dangote Cement is 52.5R grade, the HIGHEST in the world - before Dangote, Nigerians were importing and buying 32.5-graded cement from Blue Circle, Holcim, LaFarge, Scancem, Heidelberg, and all the foreign companies operating in Nigeria since the 1950s/60s, before we were even born). Nonetheless, if you think Dangote and BUA cement are expensive, can you imagine what you would be paying presently for imported cement now that the Naira has free-fallen from about N112/US$1 to N410/US1 (in addition to the much higher shipping insurance rates because of the privacy-invested waters of the Gulf of Guinea!

Finally, there has been NO benefit that has been peculiar to or granted specifically or specially to Dangote or BUA. Every industry that they are engaged in is OPEN TO ALL INVESTORS (foreign and domestic), and thus while sensible regulation (often lacking in Nigeria, where regulators most often view their roles as, or constitute themselves into, industry adversaries) is always necessary to maintain the integrity of markets and protect vulnerable consumers, most of the discussions around these subject matters (and particularly Dangote and, to a lesser extent, BUA) are, when stripped of all intellectual pretensions, little more than a call to PUNISH their success.
>

With all due respect, it's obvious there are things you are not aware of behind the scenes.

Who told you there are no peculiar benefits or restrictions given to Dangote and co? Are you aware that local sugar production was only licensed to Dangote, BUA and Flour Mills in the whole of Nigeria? meaning even if you have the money you can't play directly in this sector.

Are you aware that Dangote and BUA got pioneer status incentive (5 year tax holiday) for Cement in 2017 even when cement was not on the approved pioneer list. This was issued and approved directly by Abba Kyari.

Say only what you know oga. Being a realist is not an excuse for ignorance of the implications of established facts.

For me, this is not an ethnic matter but an ethical matter from Government perspective. Regulating the refinery sector is not punishment but commonsense. Will you say NCC is just punishing the successes of MTN, Glo and Co.?

loswhite:
I think it is contradictory when you refer to Telco model and yet you want companies without active refining license to be importing fuel... So the question is why would you have a license to refine petroleum products but choose to import rather than refine? Assuming till date we have only Econet would you have been able to boast of the Telco model? If most of the companies that obtained licenses for refining actually built a refinery, do you think we will be in this mess today? If you really want the telco model to be replicated then you should support the private companies that choose to build refineries rather than the ones that focuses on importation.

Fine, you made a point there, if the sector is to be properly regulated then there has to be licensed operators for it to be effective.

But you've not addressed my major points in my previous comment. I'm really interested in your take on those.

loswhite:
so you mean you will buy refined fuel from petrol stations with USD right....lol most Nigeria citizens are just educated illiterate.
The truth is alot of ppl had license to build refineries but refused to do so rather they imported fuel to the detriment of all Nigerians and became billionaires due to subsidy scam. It is important to note that fuel importation is part of the inflation we are experiencing due to a weaken naira against the US Dollars.
Dangote decided to do the needful and he is saying if there is a shortfall in the future only those with active license of refining should be able to import the product. The question I want to ask my fellow citizens is why do we want to support ppl that choose to focus on importation rather than refining? In what way do this ppl benefit us as Nigerians? Why do we want ppl without refineries to be importing fuel when there is a short fall? If only these ppl choose to build refineries in the first place there will be no need for importation due to shortfalls

For the most part, fair points. However, pls note that while it's not a crime for Dangote's interest to be mainly driven by business profits considerations, the Government has a duty to drive policies that benefit the greater population (utilitarianism) and not a select few.

We need to define the specific benefits that Nigerians will gain from Dangote refinery operations. Is it to manage our fx reserves and exchange rate? I really don't see that happening as they will sell to him in Naira which might outweigh the fx saved from not importing the equivalent of Dangote's local output. Multiplier effect is of little relevance here as we are talking about what will impact hundreds of millions of Nigerians and not a few thousands in Ibeju-Lekki and co.

So if it isn't to defend Naira value, then it has to be more affordable retail pricing. But if Govt leaves this aspect to Dangote, he'll eventually raise prices to further his profit motives. So, the pricing must be regulated just like NCC does with the Telcos that's making data and airtime more affordable. The incentives Obasanjo gave to the Telcos yielded the desired results, despite also being affected by our volatile economic situation. But why hasn't the incentives in Sugar and cement yielded same under even better economic conditions? The common factor I see here is Dangote and Rabiu. What guarantee is there that the pricing failure in sugar and cement will not be replicated with Dangote's retail oil pricing? That's why regulation is key here.

On your point about Dangote's suggestion where there's supply shortage in future, I prefer an open market situation, for both importers without licences and all as it will benefit more Nigerians. If truly Dangote's refinery is in Nigerians best interest through affordability, then he should have little to worry about if unlicensed importers are bringing in petrol as he should be able to leverage his economies of scale to achieve lower pricing and thus higher market share.

I have nothing against Dangote and I actually believe his refinery is a step in the right direction. But it's crucial that Nigeria does not create an economic monster that would feed fat on our collective well-being all in the name of being a risk-taking capitalist. So questions must be asked and gaps plugged ab initio.

The Telco model should be replicated with the private refinery sector.

COMPAQ:
Benefits to the economy goes beyond the price of the final product. There are jobs created - direct and indirect, economic activity created, technollogy transfered, taxes paid etc

Also there are many factors that contribute to the factors of production and ultimately cost of a product. Nigerias inefficient economy doesn't help. There was a report recently that it costs $1000 to transport a container from China to Lagos, but to deliver same container from Apapa port to Ikeja ,transporters were charging N150k due to difficulty to move at the ports.

Agreed that the policies could be implemented better and it seems like the same names come up - Dangote,BUA etc, but they seem to be the only ones willing to take the risk and there are also benefits to the economy as I explained above.

Most Nigerian rich men like easier money. They prefer trading to manufacturing. Import for N50k, sell for N100k and no value added.

I can't take the risk they do, doing such huge business in Nigeria where everything is working against you, so if they also make huge profits for their risk, why should I complain.

You have missed the thrust of the message of this beautifully researched article. While it's true that businessmen who take greater risks stand to reap greater rewards than their risk-averse counterparts, it doesn't mean it's acceptable for them to benefit to the detriment of the greater populace.

The main point raised in the article is that previous backward integration policies HAVE NOT DELIVERED on the initial targets of lowering prices of the commodities involved (sugar and cement) in order to benefit the greater populace as promised by the beneficiaries at the commencement phase. It has come out that the exclusive market players reneged on their initial promises to raise prices multiple times higher than what they met it. There isn't enough justification for this as most of their inputs are locally sourced thus mitigating impact of adverse fx rate from Naira devaluations.

The point is despite the Government massive support to Dangote and co through tax holidays and other incentives, prices of sugar and cement have sky-rocketed almost beyond the reach of average income earners. So why incentivize them in the first place if they are not delivering on the initial objectives? Also note that the multiplier effect of Dangote's business you talked about (which is limited to people that are linked directly or indirectly to his business) is greatly superseded by the adverse impact of inflated prices of sugar and cement as this affects tens of millions of the general populace. Thus, the negative pricing impact outweighs the multiplier effect resulting in a net unfavourable situation for Nigeria as a whole.

So the key question raised by the author is that why incentivize only Dangote again in the oil refinery space judging from how similar scenarios with sugar and cement played out? Now, Government is saying it will ultimately help to lower retail price of petrol to Nigerians, just like they said about sugar and cement. What guarantee is there that Dangote will not do an about-turn and start to adjust the price knob as he wishes once he has Nigerian populace by their balls? Is that the reward you are referring to that he is entitled to as a risk taking capitalist? Then why deceive Nigerians ab initio with lower prices when you'd eventually do the opposite judging from historical precedence? Is that acceptable? These are the salient questions raised in the article that you've just glossed over with your multiplier effect comment.

This man gave me nightmares as a kid!

Happy birthday sir

Sixfeetbelle:
What are you saying? See this one. I will collect the sun...and the urgent 2k. As much as money is good, nothing beats a romantic man who has money

why you do Heritage Bank like this nah?

I understand. As long as the urgent 2k is part of the package. E no matter whether na sun moon or Jupiter the guy give as jara. All na romance.

@Heritage bank, I just don't see the point of their "discover your heritage" campaign. How is that relevant to Naira, Kobo, USD and Bitcoin?

Sixfeetbelle:
MTN - Step out to the balcony, see the sunshine, Ooooh Jerry, so cute (very stupid sentimental advert)

. It wasn't, it was cute.

Or that MTN one where a couple watched their daughter take her first steps, which was in tune with a phone's ringtone. Or even 'yellow, yellow Christmas. Then 0809ja for life, then glo.

Then, there was popular bank songs like Skye bank song, FCMB Christmas song, PHB bank song, then Intercontinental bank "happy customer, happy bank' advert.

Omo, so after all those great adverts, Bank PHB did us like film finally

Sixfeetbelle:
. It wasn't, it was cute.

Taa! In this 2021, if your man gives you sunshine as his "special" gift, you go collect? Same sunshine wey over 7 billion people dey collect every day , where's the uniqueness in that? As embarrassing as it may be, most ladies will still choose "urgent 2k" over yeye sunshine

Meanwhile, all those banks you mentioned were just scamming us through their sweet unrealistic songs. Promising heaven but delivering shingba. Nigerians are wiser now, only Heritage Bank hasn't gotten the memo.

Lol, memories. But I'm suspecting Fearless marketers have infiltrated this thread. Their manner of comments is a bit patronizing. Though I agree that the advert is quite refreshing. But personally, the Airtel 444 jingle takes the cake for me cos it was very creative with the rhymes.

Back to memories, some of the ones that stand out for me:

Klin soap - E go stain my body, ( the fish seller said this about 3 or 4 times which was quite very funny)
Skye Bank - I wish .. saying yes to your needs (sang by lighthouse family)
Guinness - Udeme is a great man
MTN - a little girl running around and singing and clapping and the crowd got bigger all clapping and dancing ( song goes like - in a little old boat, clap back, clap back, clap your hands, right hand, My mama told me, that she was ...)
Coca-Cola - Oh oh oh oh oh, When I get older I will be stronger they call me freedom just like a waving flag (World cup 2010 theme song)
Sterling Bank - One Customer, One customer, One customer, One custo... YOU!
Mimee Noodles - Hoo shasha hooshasha mimee mimee
Bank PHB - One day cars will run on water - Unfortunately, na the bank vaporize completely
MTN - Step out to the balcony, see the sunshine, Ooooh Jerry, so cute (very stupid sentimental advert)

An average player is not nominated for the final three of World player of the year TWICE, coming second on both occasions.

At a point between 2000 - 2002, Beckham was Man Utd's most important player. So good were his free kicks, crosses and long-range shots then that he almost always made a telling impact in most of the matches he played.

In fact, the general feeling was that if Deportivo had not broken his ankle in 2001/2002 UCL Quarter final, Man utd would probably have won the 01/02 UCL or at least got to the final against Real Madrid. They would definitely have dispatched Leverkusen.

Becks was a truly world class player in his prime. That he could multi-task well and thus make a mark in the celebrity entertainment world is no crime that should be held against him.

Beverlyjean:
But still no footballer in history of the game including Messi and pele has more outside the box goals than Ronaldo

Did u see his 2nd goal last night ...I hv never seen that type of goal in my life...struck a ferocious shot frm 30 yards angled around the left side of the field , the goalie punched it towards Ramsey that was in the left side of the six yard box and Ramsey dint even trap it but rebounded it as a cross to the far post and super Ronaldo nodded it...how he ran diagonally after hitting the ball to nodding it was inexplicable

That's a big lie. Messi has scored way more outside the box goals than CR (including and excluding direct free kicks). I don't know about Pele as I haven't watched all his goals.

https://www.messivsronaldo.app/detailed-stats/outside-box-goals/

Do you see how most of you CR fans assumptions are always based on lies? You just bring up assertions without actual verification, and forming GOAT lori iro.

Meanwhile, at the end of the day, his goal you mentioned is still just a regular header. Regular cross and nod. Truly, he showed desire to carry on running to power in the header after the blocked shot but that's just about as good as it gets. Nothing spectacular at all.

ddippset:
Just leave beverlyjean and fuckdamods alone.

They have their heads tucked soo deep into Ronldo's Assssss that they are good friends with his digestive system.


There is no excuse in the world or beyond to justify why Ronaldo would still have the same number of goals from open play despite having played 145 games more!

One hundred and forty five.

Let them continue grasping at straws and putting up shameless arguments.

Lol, we know. We just need to keep reiterating the true picture so that people who are not aware are not swayed by their deceptive comments.

Mourinho has said nothing but the truth, despite being a Portuguese. I also call them the Trinity GOAT.

Majority of the people who truly understand football always put Messi at the pinnacle of the sport along with Pele or Maradona. The ultimate choice is a matter of personal preference.

Ask any football pundit, ex-footballers, current footballers, coach, journalist, people with real footballing brain, majority will always tell you Messi is the greatest footballer of his generation. Plenty receipts abound for public space. Instagram fans opinion will always be relegated to the bottom cos they don't matter in the grand scheme of things.

Cc: Mynd44, Dominique. Pls this may not be Obembet's thread, but it is frontpage worthy.

Beverlyjean:
Y should penalties b criticized...is it not part of the game...when LeBron James hits 40 points per game including free throws, no one complains ...u messi fans started criticising ronaldos penalties cos u guys cudnt deal with his goal numbers... when Messi hit 91 , 14 were penalties and 78 out of the 91 were in the box meaning that most were also tap ins...u guys are hypocrites.. only barca fans will remember messi...every country has only one player that they truly remember and worship depending of the achievements... Brazil pele, France zidane ,England sir Bobby Robson, Italy Paolo Rossi, Germany Gerd Muller, Spain iniesta, Nigeria kanu, cameroon eto , Liberia weah, Ghana abedi pele , Portugal Ronaldo, Argentina Maradona... messi will end up like Alfredo di stefano... his followers alone on Instagram, he is the most followed human being on earth

No be today criticism of penalties start. Pele criticized penalties and at a point refused to take them cos he felt it was a gifted opportunity.

I've heard commentators regularly take subtle jabs when bringing up statistics about players goals, if such stats involve a preponderance of penalties e.g Bruno Fernandez, Messi this UCL season, Van Nistelrooy back in 2003, even CR7. They typically use it to put the performance in context.

Cr7 had been dubbed Penaldo since his Man Utd days, so its not because Messi fans could not deal with his numbers.

Don't lie, if a striker scores 10goals all penalties, and another scores 9 goals no penalties, pray tell who will be considered more impressive by the coach and fans?

Please do not belittle Messi's 91 goal feat by your obvious ignorance here. No other player in history will have such a collection of beautiful goals within a single year. He scored over 15 solo goals, several 20 & 18 yard shots, tens of chipped goals, you don't even want to go there. The shot against Brazil, was it not a 25yard effort? Pls try to actually watch his goals before spewing falsehood cos its obvious you haven't seen them.

If na Instagram, CR na baba for that level. He can validly gloat on account of his good looks and appeal. But on this round leather matter, he no reach.

obembet:
To be honest Messi coming to City is not a good idea!!! City have all the quality players to win champions league trophy.

Lalasticlala

Why not? They'd have the best quality player in the world to cement their already good quality. The article explains it very well, not from the biased angle of Messi haters.

eskorelvis:
lol, stories that touch. Messi shud try winning a senior national trophy

Lol bro, this is part of the huffing and puffing I'm talking about o. For Messi, it doesn't matter anymore.

Beverlyjean:
We are paying u guys in ur own coin...u guys over the years discredited Ronaldo goals thru penalties and also called some of his goals tap ins...now messi has almost 50 percent of his goals this season as penalties, to the extent that he has only scored penalties in the CL this season... at least Ronaldo don't score only penalties... he hasn't in a while ...but messi gets one every 4games ... and Messi still has alot to prove , he is yet to prove that he can win an international trophy , he is also yet to prove that he can win CL without xavi Alves or iniesta

You don't get it do you. Even this season when Messi has scored 7 or 8 penalties in total, we haven't been using it as a decoy to mask Messi's performance when it was average. We are not claiming GOAT because of these penalties, unlike what you guys have done over the years.

You guys don't criticize Ronaldo when he only scores penalties, rather you typically laud him. But Messi fans have criticized Messi on multiple occasions that he scored only penalties this season. That's the difference and why your attempt to pay us back in our own coin does not hold any water, cos we are not defending anything in the first place. We truly believe that scoring penalties is not a hallmark of true footballing greatness.

Again, when all is said and done, in the official football ecosystem, Messi will eternally be ranked greater than CR, and you and your ilk will continue to kick, huff and puff in vain.

FuckThaMod:
If Messi is truly the better player then you wouldn't be here ranting like a rabid dog as always whenever a CR7 thread comes up. Take it easy, we know it's hard for you.

I don't argue with blockheads. Your comments are eternally bereft of sense, so its a waste of my time. Pls run along.

You can reply, curse or whatever (u don't really have an option) , but no response from me you'll get.