Lionel Messi would not make Liverpool, Man City, Spurs first XI, says pundit
Argentina icon Lionel Messi would not make the starting XIs of Liverpool, Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur, according to Danny Mills.
Messi, 35, remains an icon of the modern game and will again spearhead PSG’s attack in Ligue 1 next season. The forward will also play in the Champions League once again as he chases Cristiano Ronaldo’s 141 goals in the competition over the past 19 seasons.
But with Ronaldo currently not involved in the Europe’s premier club competition next season, Messi could go a long way to make up the 16 goals he is behind.
Messi remains under contract in Paris until 2023, with the option of a further year. He scored 11 goals and earned 15 assists in 34 games last season, and Mills thinks he has suffered a sharp decline.
Former Man City and England defender Mills does admit that Messi is the greatest footballer he has ever watched, but he does not believe he would make the best teams of three leading Premier League teams.
When speaking about whether Messi would get into a top Premier League team, Mills said, via the Liverpool Echo: “I think he is the greatest footballer I have ever seen. I didn’t see [Johan] Cruyff live, I didn’t see [Diego] Maradona. Messi is the greatest footballer I have ever seen.
“I know Ronaldo’s numbers may be slightly better and he’s more of a big-game player and all of the rest of it, but, in terms of a pure footballer, Messi is the greatest. But, would you take Messi now in your team? Probably not.
“We’re talking Premier League aren’t we realistically. Liverpool wouldn’t take him, City wouldn’t take him, Tottenham wouldn’t take him. No, I don’t think they would.”
Messi and Man City links
It’s safe to say Mills does not believe Messi could offer much to the Premier League.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has previously been linked with a move to Man City on a couple of occasions. In fact Fabrizio Romano confirmed in 2021 that Pep Guardiola did approach Messi’s entourage in April 2021 in the hope of signing the forward.
However, Messi and representatives declined to move to Manchester and the chance to link up again with Guardiola.
A year previous the star had also been mentioned as a City target.
Messi ended up leaving Barcelona in 2021, but it was PSG who put up the money for the forward.
