Lionel Messi has been a once in a lifetime phenomenon.
Messi has won 6 of the last 11 trophies in the Ballon d’Or race. Four of those wins came from the spell of 2009-2012. It was the period when Barcelona was unstoppable and won everything.
Messi ended up scoring 91 goals in one year and was simply superhuman. This is not to say that he has been poor after that. Leo has been equally magical and maybe more lethal in certain aspects, but the general aura of imperial Messi has slightly waned since.
Well, Ajax coach Erik Ten Hag seems to think the same thing.
“Messi was one of the leaders, but he also worked for the team and excelled as a result. He has never been as good as under Guardiola,” Ten Hag told Voetbal International.
“Barcelona has not won much in European terms in recent years either.”
“Messi still excels, but now also occasionally goes through the lower limit. It was never like that under Guardiola.”
“Pep has guts, he dares to be pioneering and innovative.”
Messi recently won the last Ballon d’Or in 2019 and is working hard to win again this year, that is if football restarts.
