Old rivalry intensifies as Messi seeks pastures new at PSG

Lionel Messi shook the football world recently by announcing his departure from Barcelona.

After 21 years at a club he joined as a 13-year-old in Barcelona’s La Masia academy, Messi departs as a Barcelona legend.

The Argentine departs as their record goalscorer and appearance holder, a six-time Ballon D’or winner whilst claiming 45 trophies in the blaugrana colours.

His long-lasting comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo are expected to be elevated to new levels now the pair have both swapped La Liga for other top European leagues. The Italian top-flight remains home for Ronaldo with Juventus with Messi expected to arrive in France’s Ligue 1.

The competitiveness between the pair has been one of the burning debates in football and sporting history. Their rivalry is comparable to Muhammed Ali vs Joe Frazier, Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal and Magic Johnson vs Larry Bird.

The pair combined have 11 Ballon D’ors, 1357 goals, 66 major honours and ten Golden Boots. Football fans all over the world have always asked the question, ‘Ronaldo or Messi?’

The two players are undoubtedly the best in the world, but they are polar opposites. Ronaldo is a swagger-filled player. He performs the flashiest skill moves with the most dazzling boots on his feet, towering over players with his height and an Adonis-like figure, making him a marketer’s dream and dedicating himself religiously every day to be the best player on the pitch.

Messi, on the other hand, is a player and person who quietly goes about his business; you rarely see him on the front pages of the newspaper. On the pitch he uses his small height and lean stature to get out of tight spaces and create chances, he relies less on prowess and more on natural ability and his mastery of playing simple football.

Their comparisons can be used on a multitude of angles; introvert versus extrovert, David versus Goliath, humble team player versus vain individualist shown by the embodiment of their rival clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona. Two teams with very different ways of operating with Ronaldo and Messi being the personification of their respective clubs, and the two would have to each other twice every season in the biggest game of the year, El Clasico.

Madrid’s Galactico model works by paying an exceptional amount of money for the biggest and most marketable names in world football. David Beckham, Kaka, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo (the Brazilian one) are just a few examples of Madrid’s investments.

Cristiano Ronaldo was the superstar Galactico signing for Real Madrid in 2009, with Los Blancos paying a then-record fee of £80 million to Manchester United for his services and 80,000 fans attending his presentation introducing him as a Real Madrid player. Madrid’s model has proved successful, with Ronaldo winning three Champions Leagues in a row in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Barcelona’s La Masia model is different; they aim to promote youth players without paying hefty transfer fees. Their model is to develop their talent rather than invest in talent. Players to graduate from this system include Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro. But Messi has been the most successful graduate and follows the Barcelona model, not seeing himself as the best. Still just a part of the Barcelona team, embodying the La Masia way by using close control, keeping the ball in tight spaces and dragging the opposition out of position to create space.

The system had seen Barcelona become arguably the greatest team of all time when they won the treble in 2011. In the Champions League final, the starting eleven saw seven graduates from the academy start, four other graduates making the sub’s bench and the team led by a former La Masia graduate, Pep Guardiola. The current Manchester City manager’s methods stemmed from the Barcelona culture of close control and quick passing with the media dubbing it ‘Tiki-Taka’ football.

Their rivalry stems beyond just football and is more like a Shakespearean tragedy of rich vs poor. Real Madrid being the rich boys club buying everything they need to be successful, compared to Barcelona making the most of what they have at their disposal.

Their polar opposite rivalry will naturally get people to make comparisons of Messi or Ronaldo. Fans online have become synonymous with trying to score points off each other by citing player stats or personal and team accolades in an attempt to leverage their favourite of the superstar upon the highest perch.

Two of the most common arguments against Messi are that he hadn’t won anything for Argentina and hasn’t proved himself in a league other than La Liga.

Ronaldo won the European Championships for Portugal in 2016, making him more successful than Messi at international level. However, after five years, Messi has recently proved those doubters wrong by winning the 2021 Copa America against Brazil, proving to many people who doubted him that he could win a trophy on the international stage.

Now the record Ballon D’or winner is set to answer another question as he edges ever closer to his impending arrival at French giants Paris Saint-Germain.

Messi would be competing in a league and territory we’ve never seen him in before and reunite with his old Barcelona teammate Neymar with whom he formed a remarkable trio alongside Luis Suarez. The three men led the line for Barcelona from 2014-2017 and became known as ‘MSN’, an abbreviation for their names. In their three seasons together, the threesome found the back of the net 364 times and assisted each other 173 times as Barcelona dominated Europe and La Liga.

Neymar ended the trio’s tenure when he left Barcelona for PSG in 2017 after PSG triggered his release clause of €222million. Neymar’s reasoning for leaving Barcelona was to become the team’s star and escape Messi’s shadow. Despite this, Neymar has welcomed Messi at PSG, even offering him his number 10 shirt, but Messi has reportedly declined his offer.

The latest question is about to be answered on whether Messi can perform in a new league as he swaps La Liga for Ligue 1 and Barcelona for PSG. Ronaldo has won league titles in England, Spain and now Italy. Ronaldo told Gazetta dello Sport in 2018 that he wished Messi would take up a new challenge outside Barcelona: “I’ve played in England, Spain, Italy, Portugal and for my national team, while he’s still in Spain. I’d love him to come over to Italy one day. I hope he accepts the challenge like me, but if he’s happy there {Barcelona} then I respect that.”

Although Messi hasn’t followed Ronaldo completely and gone to Serie A, the former Real Madrid man and many other football fans across the world have got their wish to see if Messi can live up to the challenge away from Spain.

These two football greats have dominated the top level of the game for the past ten years, and we are going to see Messi in an unfamiliar environment to his natural habitat of Barcelona, an event which seemed impossible only a few days ago. Messi has been brought out of his Barcelona shell and will undergo a new challenge in Ligue 1, and PSG will be taking a huge step in the right direction on route to winning the Champions League for the first time in their history.

What Ronaldo and Messi epitomise is that everyone can be successful playing football, whether you’re the smallest, work the hardest, the quietest, play simple or play expansively. The levels of performance they’ve produced prove it works from both perspectives, and it is fascinating to watch.

Whilst both players are ageing and progressing more towards the end of their careers than their prime, the rivalry between them will never seize to fascinate.