There’s a reason Lionel Messi has no less than seven Ballon d’Or titles to his name. The Argentine superstar raised the proverbial bar year on year as fans watched on in awe and opponents scuttled away with their tails between their legs.
In truth, we probably ran out of superlatives to accurately describe Messi a few years ago. During those electric days at Barcelona, Messi would score a heady 670 goals for the club, while notching up 302 assists in the process.
Of course, his first year at PSG was largely underwhelming, but that can never replace the thunderous weight of achievement in the years that preceded his Parisian adventure.
Across the length and breadth of Europe, there aren’t many elite footballers who haven’t been taught a lesson at one point or another by Messi.