Lionel Messi has responded to Pele’s comments in some style.
Earlier this week, Pele claimed that Messi shouldn’t be considered the greatest player of all time and insisted that the Barcelona talisman “only has one skill.”
“How can you make a comparison between a guy who heads the ball well, shoots with the left, shoots with the right and another who only shoots with one leg, only has one skill and doesn’t head the ball well?” Pele said, according to a translation from Folha de Sao Paulo.
“How can you compare? To compare with Pele, it has to be someone who shoots well with the left, shoots well with the right, and scores headers.”
To suggest that Messi is one-dimensional is outrageously reductive and he proved that he has much more than one skill in his locker when he scored one of the greatest free-kicks you’re going to see all season.
| GOOOOAL! |
Lionel Messi never ceases to amaze. 🤯
Absolute postage stamp! 📬 pic.twitter.com/g101uImnJD
— ELEVEN Football (@ElevenSportsFB) December 8, 2018
Messi has mastered the art of the free-kick in recent years but this is up there with his best as he gave Espanyol goalkeeper Diego Lopez no chance from 30 yards to open the scoring in the derbi barceloní on Saturday night.
Pele probably wasn’t even referring to Messi’s free-kick ability as his solitary skill and moments later, the Argentine displayed another string of his wondrous bow with a peach of an assist for Ousmane Dembele.
| GOAL! |
That Lionel Messi assist 😳
That Ousmane Dembele finish 🤯Barcelona are turning on the style against Espanyol, they lead 2-0! pic.twitter.com/WRzURxUrix
— ELEVEN Football (@ElevenSportsFB) December 8, 2018
The lad is good at the ol’ football.
