Feliz Cumpleaños, Lio aka Messi – By his Jabra Fan

“Do you have a jersey with ‘Messi’ written on the back?” a 10 year old kid asked the shopkeeper of a local street shop in Calcutta.

“Yes, but I’m afraid we don’t have one for your size,” he replied.

“Oh, what’s the smallest size that you have?” he asked, with a glimpse of hope in his voice. The shop keeper, using a long stick, picked up a blue and white colour jersey from the top of his stall and handed it over to the boy.

“Ah, perfect. It’s pretty big, but who cares?” He noticed that although his idol’s name was printed on the back of the jersey, the number ‘10’ was missing. He took out a sketch pen from his bag and marked ‘10’ below ‘Messi’ and paid a bargained price for it.

‘Why did you do that?’ I asked the kid.

“I have a match in my locality,” he said, “and if we win, I’ll be rich by Rs. 400 … a lot of money to buy medicine for my ailing mother.”

“Hope your mother gets well soon, but why are you wasting your money on buying this jersey?”

“Because Messi scores a lot of goals and he never lets his team down. And most importantly, he plays for the team.” He answered back, laying stress on the word ‘for’.

“Do you want to become a footballer?” I asked with a smile on my face.

“My father says that if I continue to get better, someday, I could even play alongside Messi, my idol,” he said with immense joy, and ran away.

 

He was one of the millions of kids in the world who idolizes Lionel Messi. So, on the occasion of his 29th birthday, here’s a compilation of the most popular quotes on Lionel Messi, by:

Greats of Other Fields –

• “I wear the number 10 Jersey for the US National Team in honour of the Greatest athlete I have ever seen: Messi.” – Basketball legend, Kobe Bryant

• “Seeing Messi play is like watching a video game… What Messi does on a football field is simply unthinkable… The way he walks from side to side, and once he sees an opportunity, he simply creates magic.” – Tennis superstar, Victoria Azarenka

• “At this point I’m starting to believe that Messi is tightly related to Clark Kent (Superman).” – Israeli model, Bar Rafaeli

• “There are three or four important things in life: books, friends, women… and Messi.” – Portuguese writer, Antonio Lobo Antunes

• “When you have won 4* Ballon d’or awards #therewillbehaters.” – Sports Brand Giant, Adidas

His Teammates (Former)

• “It is clear that Messi is on a level above all others. Those who do not see that are blind.” – Former teammate, Xavi Hernandez

• “This Barca will be remembered as Messi’s Barca. He’s well above anything else I’ve ever seen. He’s an alien.” – Former teammate, Carles Puyol

• “Messi is the best, for me, Messi is God, he is the best and always will be – for what he has given the team and for how much he has made me enjoy being in the same team as him.” – Former Barça teammate, Victor Valdes

• “What Leo does is so incredible that I have to be careful not to stand still watching him make his moves.” –Former Barça teammate, Thierry Henry

• “This award says I’m the best player in the world, but I’m not even the best player at Barcelona. Messi is.” – Former Barça teammate, Ronaldinho

 

His Teammates (Present)

• “I’ve always said Messi is the best player in the world.” – Barça teammate, Neymar

• “Although he may not be human, it’s good that Messi still thinks he is.” – Club and Country teammate, Javier Mascherano

• “Having Messi in the team guarantees everything. He doesn’t just score, he gives assists, and he works and wins the ball. He is the best player in the world.” – Barça teammate, Sergio Busquets

• “Lionel Messi is out of this world, he’s an alien. For me, he is the best player in the history of football. I have never seen anyone like Leo Messi. He is a miracle from God! I like it when he does his things on the field. It’s not jealousy – I feel good, for instance, when he nutmegs someone.” – Barça teammate, Arda Turan

• “When I get old, I’ll tell my grandchildren bedtime stories that their grandfather used to play with Messi.” – Argentine teammate, Angel Di María

His Rival Players

 

• “Messi is a joke. For me, the best ever.” – One of the best footballers around, Wayne Rooney

• “Who’s better, Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Messi. Ronaldo is good, but Messi is 10 times better.” – Dutch star, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar

• “Lionel Messi is quite clearly the best player ever. It’s a pleasure to pit myself against him and when I finish my career it’s something I can look back on and know I’ve tested myself against the very best.” – One of the best defenders around, John Terry

• “I am not crazy enough to compare myself with Messi because he is the best there ever was and the best there will ever be.” – German star footballer, Mario Gomez

• “Messi is class. There is him, and then there is the rest. What he does is extraordinary.” – Bayern Munich’s star football player, Franck Ribery

• “Messi does not need his right foot. He only uses the left and he’s still the best in the world. Imagine if he also used his right foot, Then we would have serious problems.” – the most badass footballer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic**

 

Football Managers

• “Diego Maradona filled us with emotions. But between the cracks, without doubt, Messi is better than Maradona. Messi alone is more dangerous than Ronaldo, Bale, and Benzema put together. Messi is the number one. No other player is close to him.” – Manager of Atlético Madrid, Diego Simeone

• “Messi is best player ever. Some say Pele, Cruyff or Maradona, but none of them was as decisive as Messi.” – Manager of Southampton, Ronald Koeman

• “He’s like a kid at school playing against a load of kids who can’t play, it’s incredible. It’s so silly; he’s on another planet, just amazing.” –
  Former manager of England, Harry Redknapp

• “Messi proves himself nearly every game. Despite his immense talent, he remains very modest. I like that in him and I respect Messi a lot.” – Former Manchester United Manager, Louis van Gaal

• “Who is the Best Player in the World? Leo Messi. Who is the Best Player Ever? Leo Messi.” – Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger

Legends of The Game

• “The other day I saw one of his games. He was running with the ball at a hundred per cent full speed, I don’t know how many touches he took, maybe five or six, but the ball was glued to his foot. It’s practically impossible.” – Real Madrid legend, Raul

• “For me, to watch Messi play is a pleasure – it’s like having an orgasm – it’s an incredible pleasure.”- Luis Figo

• “I like Messi a lot, he’s a great player. Technically, we’re practically at the same level.” – One of the greatest footballers, Pele

• “For the world of football, Messi is a treasure because he is a role model for children around the world… Messi will be the player to win the most Ballons d’Or in history. He will win five, six, seven. He is incomparable. He’s in a different league.” – One of the greatest footballers, ever, Johan Cruyff

• “I have played against Platini, Maradona, Cruyff and played with George Best — a lot of big names, but none of them has been able to do what Messi does. Two years ago I said that the best player I played against was Maradona and the best player I have played with was Bestie. But I can now say I have never seen a player as good as Messi. He’s in a league of his own.” – Former Tottenham star, Gerry Armstrong

 

And lastly, to finish this article, I’d like to share some quotes by Lionel Messi which proves that he is a gem of a person. So sit back, and enjoy reading them.

• “I’d swap five Ballon d’Or trophies for one World Cup final win – it’s the ultimate.”
• “I prefer to win titles with the team ahead of individual awards or scoring more goals than anyone else. I’m more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the world. When all this is over, what are you left with? When I retire, I hope I am remembered for being a decent guy. I like to score goals but I also like to have friends among the people I have played with.”
• “Money is not a motivating factor. Money doesn’t thrill me or make me play better because there are benefits to being wealthy. I’m just happy with a ball at my feet. My motivation comes from playing the game I love. If I wasn’t paid to be a professional footballer I would willingly play for nothing.”
• “Barcelona is my life. They have brought me to where I am today. I could not leave, I don’t want to leave. I know the Premier League is very good. But I cannot see myself playing in England because my heart is with Barcelona, always.”
• “Something deep inside my character allows me to take the hits, and get on with trying to win.”

*Lionel Messi, as of 2016, has five Ballon d’Or against his name.
**Zlatan Ibrahimovic is also Lionel Messi’s former Barça teammate.

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