Although most recent fans of Lionel Messi might be stunned by the title, it’s true. Messi was never much of a threat outside the 25-meter line in his youth, up until the 2012 season. You see, Messi started off his career being coached by Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola Frank Messi was still too young, and most of the star play came from Ronaldinho, but when Pep came around, that’s when he truly shined, and while yes, at that time he had become the best dribbler and an incredible threat in front of goal he was not much of a threat when shooting outside 25 meters. Pep Guardiola had a fixed game plan, and the team listened, but it gave Messi more restrictions in perfecting the little parts of the game he didn’t excel at.
It was in 2012, with Tito Vilanova at the helm, Messi came in Swinging, and Tito saw his unstoppable talent and let him do whatever he wanted. This gave Messi the opportunity for Messi to perfect his long shot and rival Ronaldo’s iconic long shots. It was in that year were Messi also used that long-shot ability also to perfect his free-kick, which is also a field Ronaldo was dominating in, but from then on, Messi got the better of Ronaldo and beat him 10 out of the last 12 years, becoming one of the best free-kick takers of all time.
While Ronaldo was always a great free-kick taker, he never got Messi’s precision, but Messi not only matched Ronaldo’s power but used his pure talent to become the pinpoint, accurate free-kick taker he is today and also one of the best long-shot takers of all time.
I think the perfect example of this is the goal against Liverpool in 2019 which was from more than 32 meters away from the goal, and he showcased his power and his pinpoint perfect precision. That goal should be shown at a museum one day as the perfect free kick and his most recent goal with Inter Miami is a sign that the GOAT of football is far from finished to be able to score a goal from that far is proof that Messi is ready to continue dominating not only in MLS but perhaps even on the world stage. Messi shouldn’t be downplayed as just a natural talent, he is also the embodiment of hard work and proved to all of his doubters that there is nothing he can’t do.
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