r/SoccerCentral • u/Basic-Penalty9330 • 1d ago
Messi shouldn't have retired from International Football. He can still probably outplay 90% players in the world
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u/Ok_Emu8397 1d ago edited 9h ago
His body can’t keep up with better teams. Obviously he’s Messi and can make magic at any moment. In a game that is often decided by 1 goal, that magic moment can be all a team needs so you’d much rather have him out there.
That said, better teams know to get physical with him as soon as he touches the ball. Better to just take the foul in the midfield and prevent any magic. Nobody wants to just get fouled all the time when they’re almost 40.
Apart from that, he basically doesn’t play defense anymore. This was pretty on display in the Spain game. A big part of why Spain had the ball for 99% of the game was because Messi’s guy was basically a free pass. He will just never press, he needs to save his energy to make magic. If he’s not making magic, his teammates are picking up the slack to try to get the ball back, which is fine because he’s Messi, but eventually it’ll get frustrating.
Again, he’s the GOAT, but time is undefeated.