“If you look at performance, it’s Man City. If you look at results, it’s Real Madrid.”
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), the ‘god of soccer’, was unable to choose between Manchester City (Man City, England) and Real Madrid (Spain) as the world’s best teams and gave a compromise answer.
In an interview with Argentine media outlet Infobae published on the 7th (local time), when asked to choose the best team, Messi said, “In terms of results, it is Real Madrid. They are the current UEFA Champions League (UCL) champion.“
He added, “When it comes to performance, I personally like Manchester City led by coach Pep Guardiola. Where coach Guardiola is, it becomes a special team.” He added, “Man City is the best team in terms of performance, and Real Madrid is the best team in terms of results.”
Real Madrid defeated Dortmund (Germany) in the final earlier this month and won the UCL title for the 15th time in total and two years after the 2021-2022 season. Since 2010 alone, they have won the Big Ear six times, reaffirming their status as the best in Europe.
They also won the league, beating rival Barcelona with 29 wins, 8 draws, and 1 loss.
Coach Guardiola’s Manchester City also won the English Premier League (EPL). They achieved a feat that no one had been able to achieve since the launch of the EPL: four consecutive wins.
However, UCL turned away early. This is because they met champion Real Madrid in the quarterfinals.
The two teams were unable to decide the winner with a score of 3-3 in the first game, and also tied 1-1 in the second game. In the ensuing penalty shootout, Real Madrid defeated Manchester City and was recorded as the winner in a match between the best teams in Europe.
The two teams, who played a tough game in the first game, showed a completely different performance in the second game.
Under the leadership of coach Guardiola, who is considered the best tactician of all time, Manchester City, as the defending champion, showed an overwhelming advantage in ball possession (68%-32%) and number of shots (33-8).
However, the team that took the ticket to the semifinals was Real Madrid, which rarely raised its line and focused only on defense.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti confessed after the game that there was no way to beat Manchester City if it were not for such extreme defensive football. This can be interpreted as an acknowledgment of their military inferiority in fighting head-on.
Real Madrid, which took a strategic approach and overtook Manchester City, defeated Bayern Munich, a prestigious German soccer team played by Kim Min-jae, in the semifinals, and even defeated Dortmund to become the final winner.
Coach Guardiola took charge of Barcelona from 2008 to 2012 and had a meal with Messi. Messi reached his peak thanks to coach Guardiola’s detailed tactics.
In the 2011-2012 season, he scored 73 goals in all official games.
Meanwhile, Messi avoided giving a definite answer to the question whether he would participate in the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup.
Messi replied, “(At that time) I think I need to look realistically at how I feel and what my physical condition is. I need to know whether I can continue to compete and help my teammates even then, and what physical condition I am in.” 고스톱
