legend turns 27 today.

HBD Leo. I hope he will play many years for us.

Happy Belated Birthday Leo!

Pretty good piece on last season, how making Messi less important, led others playing better but which actually made Barca have the worst season in the last 6:

https://medium.com/@AllThePurist/the-messi-machination-e5e293b4e7c9

So glad to see him seemingly back to his best.... he wasnt for such a long time I feared he may have been past his best already, so seems not!

Next 2 games will determine Messi's standing in the game as far as the GOAT debate is concerned.
If he puts in 2 transcendental performances like the old vintage Messi,then he would be declared the GOAT by most people and it will be as unanimous as it is ever going to be.
If however,he plays the way he has for a while now,the debate will continue and more doubts will be raised.

SIEZE GLORY!

DO IT! WOULD BE EPIC

I think Messi will shine more today than in any other knock out game, I can't see Schweini man marking him effectively. But it won't be vintage Messi. He gets exhausted even with the little amount of running he does, don't expect him to always be sprinting, he's not the athlete he used to be.

Btw the Messi doesn't run criticism has now officially become mainstream:

Lionel Messi has disappointed me - Gary Lineker
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/28274470

He is basically saying what I have been saying for years.That he doesnt offer movement,that he doesnt run into the box etc.
Now if only our board sees it and gets rid of him.

Oh baby, I'm looking forward to seeing what Alex has to say about this last performance.

Flopped and flopped hard.Something told me before the match that he would show up and that he had been saving himself all for this match.
Boy was I disappointed.
Once more,the whole world was witness to 120 min of the Lionel Messi Walking Around as if he owns the pitch show.If I want to write about all the things he did wrong in this match,I would be here all year.
Walking around,not moving to create space,not moving into space to offer himself for a pass.All the basics of a La Masia graduate and he has forgotten it all.One would be forgiven for thinking that he was not a La Masia graduate.
Even with the huge advantage he had over his opponents (everyone working hard while he walks around),he did squat.Came off second best every single time.
Meanwhile Ozill,the guy who had stamina issues has now turned into Marathon Man Ozil.Ran 14 km in the final.

Based on how hard he flopped in the SF and Final,I am going to have to downgrade him in my GOAT liest.I had him second behind Cruyff.
Now after the SF and the final,I have him behind Cruyff,Maradona,Pele,Di Stefanoand maybe even Ronaldo and Zidane.

Jonathan28 wrote:Oh baby, I'm looking forward to seeing what Alex has to say about this last performance.

I dont disappoint.You ask for it.You get it.

Golden Ball  
A mockery of the award.I can name 10 players who deserved it more than him.

Cause they got by stats. Stats wise he was amongst the best. Also played in the final. Had Higuain hit that sitter who knows what might of happened.

I love reading your rants, lol. Lets sell Messi

Let's sell Messi m8. I'm sure that will be good. Now we can get back to that nice slick pressing that everybody wants. I don't think we'll miss him one bit. In fact, sell him to the premier league where he will be exposed for the pos that he is.

He was vomiting again in the first half something seems to be very wrong with Messi.

Tbh, if this current trend of Messi walking around is eventually going to get worse, I wouldn't begrudge the board selling him whilst he is at his peak value. As good as Messi is the team doesn't need a passenger, it is really beginning to hurt us now.

2 things.

1. That kind of worries me now. Fact he has been throwing up so much and his stamina seems to be fading. He is picking and choosing when to burst, and now that image makes me wonder if he's sick and people aren't being told. Could of also been nerves?

2. If he's NOT sick. I just want to say Messi is not longer his old self. I think we all here can admit it. Some of us saw it coming, and some of us wanted to see how he performed at the World Cup before we wrote his "prime" as past. But I think it's safe to say that his youthful high energy is gone. His skill still remains, and by his own god like bar he sat, he has declined. That said, I believe he went from being in a class of his own, to gradually falling down a tier. I think the board saw this, and it's a big reason why they went out and spent the cash on Suarez. Neymar didn't score enough to lead the team (9 goals last season), but Suarez won the golden shoe. It's a sad realization to know that he hit his peak in the years between the last world cup and this one. Now I seriously don't think he will even be as productive as he was at this World Cup at the next. So his chance to seize glory for his legacy might be forever gone. As for his Barcelona tenure, I believe he can still offer plenty. His vision the amount of attention teams put on him is still un matched. But I believe his goal numbers will never rise to the level they have been. He will simply be a bit more human. I honestly wouldn't be shocked if Suarez is the one who ends up scoring a ton the next two seasons with Messi, Iniesta, and Neymar passing to him.

Sad really. I just don't think we should continue referring to him as the worlds best player. That title belongs to the "old" messi

I think i'm just bumped. It would of been epic to see him succeed

Jonathan28 wrote:Tbh, if this current trend of Messi walking around is eventually going to get worse, I wouldn't begrudge the board selling him whilst he is at his peak value. As good as Messi is the team doesn't need a passenger, it is really beginning to hurt us now.

Messi a passenger? Is this dude serious?

Without Messi, Barca would just be another club. Messi has been carrying that team for years now. Tell me, where would Barca be without Messi's goals?

Messi can walk around all day for all I care. All that's needed from him is to create and/or score goals.

Finally proved himself in World Cup, the best player of the tournament. And he did it without Xavi and Iniesta. Actually seeing Spain embarrasing themselves without Messi, can Xavi and Iniesta really perform without Messi?

Hopefully he will not run as much in Barca the next season, Barca fanboys don't deserve running Messi.

Funny how he looked so devasted to have proved himself...

http://bucket1.clanacion.com.ar/anexos/fotos/23/mundial-brasil-2014-1914923w620.jpg

What's funny about it? I think it's sad...

Yea, me too

That's a sad visual. I don't get whats with people love to make fun of people when they are down

All I can say is that now that I have no doubts about 'saving himself' for the world cup or the fact that the he was just injured (a legit excuse a couple months ago) and all that jazz, I'm quite worried about his stamina and fitness. I also thought his walking was because he had become 'too big' for Barca.

The last may be true, but even on the night of a world cup final, a game that would forge his name potentially into the greatest of all time, and a unique opportunity to lead his country into glory and ecstasy and conquer the last frontier he has to conquer, Messi was walking around, moving in short bursts, failing to get himself open etc. That combined with his throwing up the first half (did that happen in previous games, too?) makes me think that perhaps there is something wrong with him or he isn't taking care of himself physically.

You could see how much it meant to him...so I can't see where a guy like Messi is walking around because he thinks he's better than everyone else or is above running off the ball.

Agreed. He's burnt out. These past few years he's been playing every single minute with us, then with Argentina, along with doing his usually charity matches when he should be resting. Even through injury he keeps playing this is just the side effect.

I feel sorry for him that picture BC posted, I really want to hug him.