French Ligue 1
Lionel Messi: The ‘greatest’ leaves PSG on low note
Lionel Messi’s uninspiring two-year stint at Paris Saint-Germain is set to come to an acrimonious end with a move to join long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, just months after his crowning glory at the 2022 World Cup.
For his legions of admirers, the debate about Messi’s right to be regarded as the greatest footballer in history was officially put to bed when he led Argentina to the title in Qatar in December.
But his career at the highest level in Europe appears to have finished on a low note.
Messi was suspended by PSG last week for making an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia.
He has scored 31 goals in 71 appearances for the French champions and is likely to win a second consecutive Ligue 1 title later this month, but failed in his mission to help PSG to a maiden Champions League triumph, suffering back-to-back last-16 defeats.
Barcelona had been hopeful of bringing the 35-year-old back to the Camp Nou, where he won 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns before a tearful departure in 2021.
Instead though, Saudi Arabia, regularly accused of sportswashing, or hosting the biggest names in sport to deflect attention from its human rights record, will be able to boast having arguably the two greatest players of the modern era in their unheralded domestic league.
Ronaldo is playing for Al Nassr, while a source close to the negotiations who told AFP that Messi’s move to Saudi Arabia was a “done deal”, stopped short of saying which club the Argentine will join.
– World Cup mission accomplished –
The absence of a World Cup winners’ medal had long been Exhibit A in the argument about why Messi did not rank above Pele and Diego Maradona in football’s pantheon.
But with Argentina’s victory over France in last year’s jaw-dropping World Cup final in Doha, the case was surely closed.
In a glittering career that has spanned three decades, Messi has won 37 club trophies, seven Ballon d’Or awards and six European Golden Boots.
There has been a Copa America title, an Olympic gold medal and a list of scoring and statistical records that may never be beaten.
In his final World Cup appearance, Messi scored twice as Argentina battled to a 3-3 draw in extra time before prevailing on penalties.
Not even Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick for France could upset Messi’s appointment with destiny on a night that seemed pre-ordained.
Whether Messi really is the ‘greatest ever’ is a question, of course, that is as futile as the answer is subjective.
– Ranking greatness –
What is undeniable though is that by sheer volume and range of silverware, Messi has won more than the other serious rivals to his “G.O.A.T” status: Pele and Maradona.
While Pele’s three World Cup triumphs remain unrivalled, the Brazilian icon’s club career pales in comparison to Messi’s.
In his peak years with Barcelona, the Argentinian regularly scaled the pinnacle of European club football in the Champions League — arguably a technically superior arena than international football.
Maradona meanwhile won only one World Cup, and never lifted a European Cup during a club career in Europe remembered mostly for spells with Barcelona and Napoli.
The counter-argument of course is that Pele and Maradona played in an era where players were offered far less protection than the likes of Messi and Ronaldo.
Pele hobbled out of the 1966 World Cup after taking one brutal tackle too many; Maradona was also subjected to roughhouse treatment throughout his career.
Maradona’s former international team-mate Jorge Burruchaga is reluctant to compare players across generations.
Burruchaga, scorer of the winning goal — set up by Maradona — in the 1986 World Cup final victory over West Germany has said simply that Messi is the greatest player of his era.
“Win or lose, Messi is not more or less than Maradona,” Burruchaga told AFP during the World Cup. “Messi is going to be in history whatever happens.
“There are five players in the past 70 years who can be considered the best in the world — (Alfredo) Di Stefano, Johan Cruyff, Pele, Maradona and Messi.”
The last name on that list is potentially leaving the European elite for good, but Messi is yet to end an international career that has already produced 102 goals in 174 matches.
The Copa America in the United States next year could still provide a fitting swansong.
-AFP
After reaching a significant career milestone, Super Eagles winger and Nantes star, Moses Simon, was recognised by French Ligue 1 on Tuesday.
A pillar in the Nigeria Super Eagles side that finished second in last February’s Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, Simon is regarded as one of the most decisive Nigerian players in the French top division. He reached a milestone of 150 matches in the French Ligue 1 during Nantes’ 1-1 draw with Angers SCO at the weekend.
The Ligue 1 official Twitter account marked the occasion, celebrating Simon’s contributions with a post stating, “Indispensable Moses Simon.”
In his 150 appearances, the 29-year-old winger racked up 27 goals and 29 assists, showcasing his vital role in his team’s success.
Simon’s achievement places him fifth among Nigerian players with the most Ligue 1 appearances, trailing only John Utaka (239 games), Wilson Oruma (196), Taye Taiwo (191), and Victor Ikpeba (170).
Further cementing his legacy, Simon’s assist during the Angers match made him the most decisive player for Nantes since their promotion to Ligue 1 in 2013.
His pinpoint pass to Johann Lepenant in the 18th minute gave Nantes an early lead before Angers’ Himad Abdelli equalised later on.
With this assist, Simon broke the previous club record held by the late Emiliano Sala, becoming Nantes’ top contributor with 29 assists in Ligue 1.
This season, the Super Eagles forward has continued his form, recording two goals and two assists in just five games.
Simon was named Nantes’ Player of the Month for August.
Simon, who joined Nantes from Levante in August 2019, helped the Yellow Canaries lift the Coupe de France in 2022. It was the third trophy of his career, having won the Belgian Pro League and the Super Cup with Gent in 2015.
Jean-Louis Gasset who was sacked by Cote d’Ivoire after the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations last January has announced his retirement as a coach of Olympique de Marseille.
He will take charge of his last game on Sunday before retiring from management, the 70-year-old said on Friday.
Gasset was appointed as interim manager by the Ligue 1 club in February after the sacking of Gennaro Gattuso, and Marseille are eight in the standings going into their final Ligue 1 game of the season at Le Havre.
“Sunday will be the last match of my career,” Gasset told a press conference.
“That I stay in football, that my experience, my ideas and my networks are used is a possibility. I don’t know how to garden, I won’t have anything to do. But as a coach, it’s over.”
The Frenchman’s previous job was with Ivory Coast from which he was sacked after the team’s poor performances in the Africa Cup of Nations group stage. They scraped through as the last lucky losers before going on to win the tournament on home soil.
-Reuters
Kylian Mbappe has backed winger Ousmane Dembele to be a success at Paris St Germain and fill his boots after he exits the club, as he won his fifth successive Ligue 1 Player of the Year award.
France captain Mbappe, 25, last week announced that he will leave the French champions at the end of the season after a seven-year stay, during which he became their all-time top scorer with 256 goals.
Mbappe’s frustration lies with PSG’s performances in the Champions League, a trophy they have never lifted despite huge investment in the squad. He has been heavily linked with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, who are in the final this year seeking a 15th European crown.
His 26-year-old compatriot Dembele joined the Parisian club, who have won 10 of the last 12 Ligue 1 titles, from LaLiga side Barcelona in August last year, signing a five-year deal.
“I have shared and played with incredible players, like Dembele who is here, he is a friend and one day he will pick up this award,” Mbappe said on Monday at the award ceremony.
“I thank the club as a whole, the coach, who has helped me and trusted me, his staff, the doctors, all the people at the club, the sporting management, the president, the shareholders of the club, of course, the Emir of Qatar who came to find me at the age of 18, who has accompanied me in all my decisions…”
He said his next chapter is going to be very exciting but did not reveal any further details.
“Now I’m turning the page in my life. Everything that comes next is super exciting, but that’s another subject,” Mbappe said.
“Thank you all, I’m going to miss you. I have always tried to do my best, and I also want to thank my family, who have always been with me in good times and bad.
“My father, who is here, I know that it was very important to him that I made history in Ligue 1 before I left and I think that with humility I have done everything you wanted.”
-Reuters
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