Lionel Messi’s long road to winning over English media amid Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry | OneFootball

Long underappreciated in England, Lionel Messi is now widely regarded as the greatest and will finally face the Three Lions in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final in Atlanta at 21:00.

Remarkably, despite 205 caps and 125 goals, he has never faced England. L'Équipe points out this is down to Argentina’s money-spinning friendlies in the Gulf or North America, unfavourable World Cup draws, and a red card that cost him a place in a 3-2 England win in Geneva in 2005.

Early Champions League meetings with English clubs yielded little, which did not help his standing despite meteoric progress that brought a first Ballon d’Or in December 2009 at 22.

His image shifted with a Wembley header on 27 May 2009 in Barcelona’s 2-0 final win over Manchester United, then a four-goal haul against Arsenal on 6 April 2010. He has since scored 27 Champions League goals against Premier League sides for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

Even so, the Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry blunted his appeal in England, many pundits preferred CR7 given proof at United and a more physical style. Piers Morgan, with 8.8 million followers on X, was still calling Ronaldo the GOAT in late 2022 and ranking Messi fourth.

Since the 2022 World Cup final win over France, most English analysts now recognise the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner as the GOAT. A standout display could sway the last pro-CR7 holdouts.

Source: L'Équipe