Even though Lionel Messi led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup victory in Qatar, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has refused to declare him the greatest player in history.
In December, Lionel Messi brought his nation its first World Cup trophy since 1986 by defeating France in a nail-biting penalty shootout. This fulfilled his dream of winning the grand tournament.
Given that Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit from the competition came after Portugal’s 1-0 quarterfinal loss to Morocco, many people have concluded that Messi’s triumph in Qatar has put an end to the GOAT debate.
In the judgement of coach Ancelotti, Lionel Messi is not the greatest of all time despite winning the World Cup. The Italian coach insisted that Johan Cruyff and Diego Maradona deserved the GOAT title more than Messi.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti during a pre-game press conference.
“It’s difficult to tell; I’m not sure if he’s the best in history”, Ancelotti stated during Real Madrid’s pre-game press conference on Thursday morning.
‘It’s not fair to say that, because each era has very good players. ‘Messi is the best in history won’t come out of my mouth”, he noted.
Ancelotti went on to add: ‘I’ve enjoyed so many good players… I train in the Ballon d’Or every day. And I’ve seen Cruyff, Maradona play…’
Thousands of football fans and experts, however, claimed via social media that Messi’s performance at the 2022 World Cup had finally put an end to the GOAT argument.
Messi’s victory in Qatar was sufficient, in the opinion of Jamie Carragher, to elevate him beyond every other player in the history of the game.
