Lionel Messi Or Diego Maradona - Who is the Greatest Footballer of All Time?

                      Messi vs Maradona

Lionel Andrés Messi has been making all the headlines within the soccer world recently, he's undoubtedly the simplest footballer within the world at the instant, but such is that the media obsession with the 22-year-old genius from Rosario, Argentina, that some pundits are literally beginning to say that Messi is now the best player of all time. is that possible? Or is that this just media hype?

There is no doubt that Messi has achieved an awful lot in terms of club football at such an early age. He was nominated for several FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or nominations by the tender age of 21, then won both at the age of twenty-two. Messi's playing style, skill, and skill have drawn many comparisons to fellow countryman, Diego Maradona, who has himself declared Messi as his "successor". However, can we seriously consider Messi to be a far better player than the Argentinean legend?

Let us check out the facts. Diego Maradona also had an incredible club football career, for Boca Juniors, Barcelona, and especially, Napoli. it had been at Napoli that he elevated the team to the foremost successful era in their history. Led by Maradona, Napoli won their only Serie A Italian Championships in 86/87 then in 89/90. They also came second in 87/88 and 88/89, also as winning the Coppa Italia in 87, the UEFA Cup in 89, and therefore the Italian Supercup in 90. Also, Maradona was the highest scorer in Serie A in 87/88.

Meanwhile, although Messi is winning every trophy in view with Barcelona, it's arguable that they might do so anyway whether he was within the team or not. this is often possibly the best club side that there has ever been and includes two of the opposite top 5 players within the world, in Xavi and Iniesta. However good Messi has been for Barcelona, he has not had the impact that Maradona had at Napoli.

Although at the club level, there's not much in it between the 2 Argentinean geniuses, that's not the case at the international level. Messi's record is average to mention the smallest amount when he plays with Argentina, whereas Maradona's record with Argentina was second to none. Maradona won the planet Cup in 1986 with a really average side, fixing unbelievable performance after performance. He then took a good worse team to the ultimate in 1990, although they ended up losing to Germany.

Yes, Messi is the best player in the world. Yes, he's still young and who knows, at some point, he could challenge Maradona because the greatest player ever. However, to match Messi to Maradona at this stage is sheer nonsense and is clearly just media hype. Can we even compare him to the likes of Pele, Zidane, Cruyff, and Platini at the moment? I doubt it to be honest, but World Cup 2010 might be the stage where he starts to place forward his credentials.