Football greats say Messi deserves Ballon D'Or ahead of rival Ronaldo .

                Asked to give their choice, former England captain Keegan, who won the cup in 1978 and 1979, sided with brilliant Barcelona star Messi. His view was shared by Rumenigge, van Basten, Suarez, Kopa, Sammer and Shevchenko.

Surprisingly, former Real Madrid stars di Stefano and Figo plus ex-Chelsea midfielder Gullit all said they couldn’t make a decision while Kaka voted for his Real Madrid coworker Ronaldo as did Beckenbauer and former Milan midfielder Rivera.

Messi, who first won in 2009, is the favourite to win again at the award rite in Zurich on January 7.

 

Lionel Messi should be crown the best footballer in the world for the fourth successive year, according to some of the game’s greatest players.

In a poll of 13 of the Ballon D’Or’s past winners, Messi beat his greatest rival Cristiano Ronaldo by seven votes to three with three others claim they could not choose between them.

France Football, the publication that originally specially made the trophy back in 1956, spoke to past winners Kaka, Alfredo di Stefano, Ruud Gullit, Luis Figo, Kevin Keegan, Karlheinz Rummenigge, Marco Van Basten, Luis Suarez Miramontes, Raymond Kopa, Matthias Sammer, Franz Beckenbauer, Andrei Shevchenko and Gianni Rivera.

Argentina World Cup star Claudio Caniggia says Neymar “imagination” won’t be enough to surpass Lionel Messi

The former Boca Juniors and River Plate man was sure the 20-year-old would reach great heights in the game, but said he needs time to become one of the best.
One of Neymar’s biggest attributes, according to Caniggia, was his ability to think impulsively on the ball, continually surprising his opponents with unpredictable movements.
"The great player is Meymar. Surely, as I always say, Neymar is a player with more imagination in the world,” he is quote as saying by
"He has a lot of imagination, is creative and finds different ways to score and create a move.
"He will surely be one of the best. He is only 20 years old. We have to give him time. Within a few years, he will be one of the best."
However, the 45-year-old, who as well had a spell with Rangers in Scotland, insisted we were in the age of Barcelona star Messi, saying his fellow Argentinean was convinced to be regard as one of the greatest of all time when his career was over.
Although he would not say who was the best, he likened him to football great such as Pele and Diego Maradona.
“This is the era of Messi. There will always be many story of the career sof players like him. How was Pele, Cruyff, Di Stefano, Maradona ... No matter the order of who is the best,” he added.
Barcelona have been with a move for Neymar in fresh months, so the new star of the Brazil national team may have the chance to prove whether or not he can compete with Messi at the Camp Nou.

Tevez: Messi better than Ronaldo

Carlos Tevez is in the rare position of having been a team-mate of both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - and he says his fellow Argentine Messi is the best player in the world.
Manchester City forward Tevez faces his former Manchester United colleague Ronaldo in Wednesday's Champions League meeting with Real Madrid.
The pair were team-mates for two years at Old Trafford and won the Champions League together in the 2007-08 season - a season in which Ronaldo scored 42 goals.
But Tevez has also played alongside Barcelona's Messi, who has netted 78 times for club and country in 2012, for Argentina.
"I think it is only right if Cristiano Ronaldo does believe he is the best in the world," he said. "Any guy who gets 37-40 goals a season has a right to believe that, but if you push me I am always going to go on the side of Messi," he said.
Tevez struck twice in Saturday's 5-0 win over Aston Villa, which took reigning champions City back to the top of the Premier League, but they sit at the foot of their Champions League group after taking only two points from their first four games.
Anything other than victory would mean they cannot qualify for the last 16 even before their December trip to Dortmund.
However, Tevez said City had not given up hope, adding: "The players are all convinced it is still possible. As long as it is mathematically possible, why not?" He argued that City could not use a difficult draw - in a group with the champions of Spain, Germany and the Netherlands - to explain their disappointing results.
"It is true that it is a really tough group, possibly the toughest in this year's Champions League, but let's not consider that as an excuse for why we have not got the necessary points," he said.

Balotelli can be as good as Messi and Ronaldo, insists Mancini

The 22-year-old is rarely out of the spotlight, and his work ethic was publicly questioned by his manager recently when.

Manini lamented the unpredictability of his compatriot, but insisted that off the pitch Balotelli is a “fantastic guy” who has all the tools to become one of the planet’s finest footballers.

"[Balotelli] has everything to be one of the best players in the world," Mancini told reporters.

"He could be like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi if he understands that to be like this you should work hard.

"He is 22 but life can go quickly. [He needs to] understand that to be like [Ronaldo and Messi] he should work hard, his mind should be always on [his] job, not on the other things that are not important.

"He can score two goals next week but he can also take a red card. It is not easy to work with him every day because if you are a manager, you should manage 22 players.

"Mario outside the pitch is a fantastic guy. Sometimes he doesn't understand how his job is important for his life but I hope he can understand this quickly."

Emery salutes ´special´ Messi

Spartak Moscow coach Unai Emery has hailed Barcelona star Lionel Messi prior to their Champions League showdown on Tuesday night.

The Ballon d'Or nominee, who recently broke Brazil legend Pele's record for scoring the most goals during one calendar year with his 76th strike against Mallorca, is now only nine behind Gerd Mueller's tally.

Having a tough meeting with Tito Vilanova's men ahead of him, Emery revealed his belief that the South American star is truly one of a kind.

"He has a special gene; it's unique." he said.

"It's the essence of the game. He does everything so naturally, that, when he scores three goals in a match, it seems normal to us."

However, the Spanish coach insisted that, although they are blessed with an outstanding individual player, it is the whole team which makes Barcelona dangerous opponents.

"Barcelona are still centred around Messi, but they give a lot of importance to the group and the contribution of all the players," the former Valencia coach said.

"It's a philosophy that has marked an age, that will stay with us but won't be repeated."

He then shared his view on his team's chances of beating the club that many consider Champions League favourites for this year, and after seeing his side come close to an upset in Camp Nou, he has refused to rely on Siberian conditions to get him an important victory.

"We shouldn't look to the weather to give us more of a chance. We had a good match in the away game," Emery said.

"It was Messi who decided things. We have to repeat what we did there, but playing as well in defence as in attack. If we do that we'll be close to winning."

Messi-on-shortlist-for-Goal-of-the-Year

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) — Lionel Messi's stunning solo strike in Argentina's 4-3 win over Brazil in June is among the 10 nominations for the FIFA Goal of the Year.

Goals by Colombia striker Radamel Falcao, Brazil forward Neymar and France playmaker Hatem Ben Arfa are also on the shortlist, which will be reduced to three on November 29 following a public vote on the websites of FIFA and France Football magazine.

The winner of the FIFA Puskas Award, named after Hungarian great Ferenc Puskas, will be revealed on January 7 at the Ballon d'Or gala in Zurich.

Neymar won the 2011 award and will look to retain the prize courtesy of his goal for Santos against Internacional on March 7, when he scored following a mazy dribble from the half-way line.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic hopes his stellar performance against England gets him Lionel Messi treatment

Sweden captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic has said he wants to be held in the same regard as Lionel Messi following his astonishing performance against England.
The PSG striker scored all four goals in the host’s 4-2 victory over the Three Lions, but it was the last of the four that really took the headlines – a 30-yard overhead kick volley from an angle.
It has been described as one of the best goals ever and Ibrahimovic hoped it went some way to change how he is viewed in the English press, where his brilliance has failed to penetrate fully due to subdued performances in the Champions League against Premier League sides.
The 31-year-old said Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi was treated with similar distrust until he finally put on a sparkling performance against Manchester United.
“That’s the way it is with the English. If you score against them you’re a good player, if you don’t score against them you’re not a good player,” he said after the game.
“I remember Lionel Messi before the 2009 Champions League Final. Then he scored against Manchester United and suddenly he was the best player in the world.
“Maybe now they’ll say something like that about me.”
Whether this is true or not is another matter, but it is clear that his reputation in England is an issue that Ibrahimovic still feels annoyed about.
It is hard to understand why, as Ibrahimovic’s goal record around Europe is fantastic and, before last season, he won the domestic championship he was in eight seasons in a row.
Now English fans and journalists have had a closer look at Ibrahimovic at his best, there can be no more doubt over his quality.

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Lionel Messi jumps back to top AP soccer rankings

LONDON — Lionel Messi has returned to the top of the AP Global 10 football rankings by passing Pele’s 54-year-old goal-scoring milestone, while Bayern Munich’s stunning form propelled the German side to the top of the team list.
In The Associated Press’ weekly rankings, Messi finished far ahead of his closest rival, Mexican striker Javier Hernandez, who was in goal-scoring form for Manchester United over the past week. Messi is just 10 goals away from breaking the all-time calendar-year record set by Germany’s Gerd Muller in 1982.
"Messi’s got to take top spot after yet another milestone," said panelist James Porteous of The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. "Passing Pele’s record of 75 goals in a calendar year with his brace against Mallorca. Ten goals in 10 games required to overtake Gerd Muller’s mark of 85 and you’d have to fancy him to achieve it."

Mike McGrath of Britain’s Wardles News Agency and The Sun newspaper, said: "If there was any argument about Lionel Messi being the best player in the world, beating Pele’s record puts that beyond any doubt. He is setting new standards of brilliance every week."
Each panelist in the AP poll gives 10 points for his player of the week, dropping to one point for his 10th choice. The same applies for global club teams. Panelists are football journalists from around the world.
Juventus striker Fabio Quagliarella thrust his way into third place by scoring four goals in the past two games.
Messi received 139 points, Hernandez 98 and Quagliarella 67.
Goalkeeper Fraser Forster, hero of Celtic’s stunning Champions league victory over Barcelona, was recognised by the panelists who voted him into fourth position with 61 points. Strikers Edinson Cavani (5th), Franck Ribery (6th), Cristiano Ronaldo (7th) and Marouanne Fellaini (8th) all benefited from scoring.
"Cavani has replaced Radamel Falcao as the hottest striker in Europe," Will Tidey of Bleacher Report in the U.S. said. "The Uruguayan scored all four in Napoli’s Europa League win on Thursday, then added a goal and an assist in Serie A on Sunday."
Ronaldo proved he’s no softy, scoring for Real Madrid against Levante despite a gruesome eye injury hindering his vision.
Bayern was the team of the week with 128 points, jumping from third place. The 6-1 Champions League thrashing of Lille was clinical, and a 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend keeps it at the top of the Bundesliga.
Juventus bounced back from a loss to Inter Milan with 10 goals in two games to come second with 121 points. The Italian team won 4-0 in midweek against Denmark’s Nordsjaelland, and scored six at Pescara. Juve had finished fourth in the previous poll.
United was third, up one position, after successive Champions League victories, thanks mainly to Hernandez.
Celtic’s midweek victory over Barcelona was rewarded with a fourth place, the first time the Scottish team has appeared in the top 10.
Tom Timmerman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said: "Where would Celtic have been in the Champions League without Forster? Not getting as much praise, that’s for sure.
"In a one-game, head-to-head matchup, I’d be inclined to go with Barcelona, but for the bodywork so far this season, it’s hard to look past what Bayern Munich has done, with 10 wins in 11 games and a 7-point edge in the Bundesliga."

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Lionel Andres Messi

Full name: Luis Lionel Andrés Messi Birth day: June 24, 1987 Birthplace: Rosario, Argentina Nationality: Argentinian Other nationality: Spanish EU passport: Yes Height: 169 cm Weight: 67 kg Club: FC Barcelona Position: Forward Debut: 17 November 2003