It's weird that Messi didn't try to shot like usual. For example Messi would shot immediately when he had chance 1 on 1 with GK like he had vs Brazil. Another example from the same match, Messi dribbled past two Brazil players in penalty era but didn't shot.
Yep. The assist he had vs Ecuador, the 3 v 1 at the end of the game, he would have taken that chance himself back in the day. And over the years often he has struggled to find the same openings for shots with Argentina as he does with Barca.
Yep. Not a good stat for Neymar. He has always missed quite a few easy chances. I remember 3 of those this tournament. I'd have to look up the others.
True. And 4 of the assists were pretty Messi-esque. Only one could be classified as a routine assist (i.e. the one that made it 3-nil over Ecuador).
Dunno if this has been posted yet but… Lionel Messi produced an international tournament performance for the ages [emoji2962] Lionel Messi produced an international tournament performance for the ages 🤯 pic.twitter.com/vpFjUAvijA— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 13, 2021
So word is Messi's new contract will see him more than halve his salary but his contract will be for 5 years ... which would see him in the club through 39 years of age. I guess to give him a pay cut they had to make it a long term contract ... but 5 year term seems absurd. I would have thought 3 years max. My guess is that there is no intention in finishing up that contract period and that he will move on before then. And as with anything dealing with deals the clubs does, you have to wonder what kind of shady deal is behind it.
As long as he does well, I don’t care if he’s with the club for 5 years. Even if Messi stops being a goalscoring threat, he can still operate as a great playmaker.
Yeah, the length of the contract doesn't matter so much. As long as its more than one year so that we don't have to go through this same BS every summer. Having half the salary would also make him highly attractive to a Man City, PSG, etc. to the point where they would probably be willing to pay a decent transfer fee for him. Barca -> Man City -> NYCFC would seem like a logical path for Messi to take these next/last 5 years.
So presumably, Messi ain't staying till 39. I would have honestly thought 2 more years. Messi was making 50m clean in his last contract ... now he is going to make 20m a year over 5 years (100m) and he has an MLS option in the contract. Are we really gonna pay Messi 100m for Messi even if he leaves after the 2nd year ? This really looks like a way to pay him 100m. This is no pay cut. If this is what they are doing, the club is truly a circus.
Remember at the start of last season when people were saying Lionel Messi was done? A Copa America, a Copa America top goal scorer, Copa America top assists, a Pichichi and a Copa del Rey later, here we are. That is some decline.— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) July 16, 2021
At nearly 20 million ‘likes’ this photo is reportedly the most ‘liked’ sports-related photo on Instagram . https://www.instagram.com/p/CRLJN-or7DE/?utm_medium
Just shows how bad, and far behind SA broadcasts are that of Euro's. You couldn't even see this live because they were busy showing some random replay's. Yeah at 1-0 91:30 you will not see this because it's not apparently important.
It was nice, but let's not get crazy. Diaz did something very comparable in the very next game (against Argentina).
Pele: Messi is the best in the world. But not in my top 10, neither is Ronaldo (Tap in one, not real Ronaldo).
So where is the clip from Euro 2020 that shows a player dribble past 2 players twice in such a short space with one player completely getting floored all ends up and the other guy so casually nutmegged? Diaz’s dribble was skillful, but still not as skillful. In Euro 2020 you may only see Chiesa going past men like this. South Americans in general display more skill.