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Lionel Messi Used His Left Foot, Right Foot And Head When Scoring His First Eight Barcelona Goals

Lionel Messi Used His Left Foot, Right Foot And Head When Scoring His First Eight Barcelona Goals

Are you listening. Pele?

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare

Pele reckons five-time Balon d'Or winner and arguably the greatest footballer to ever walk this planet, Lionel Messi, "only has one skill."

In a remarkable set of quotes, the Brazilian went on to claim that Messi "only shoot with one leg" despite the fact he scored his first eight goals for Barcelona with his left foot, right foot and head.

Oh, we're not done there. Diego Maradona was "much better" than the Barcelona forward, according to Pele.

"How can you make a comparison between a guy who heads the ball well, shoots with the left, shoots with the right and another who only shoots with one leg, only has one skill and doesn't head the ball well? Pele told Folha de Sao Paulo

"How can you compare? To compare with Pele, it has to be someone who shoots well with the left, shoots well with the right, and scores headers.

"As far as I'm concerned, Maradona was one of the best players ever. If you ask me, 'Was he better than Messi?' Yes, he was. Much better.

"[Franz] Beckenbauer, [Johan] Cruyff were also excellent players."

Both Pele and Maradona have flip-flopped between loving and hating Messi.

In October, Maradona questioned Messi's abilities as a leader and claims he goes to the toilet 20 times before a game.

"Messi's a great player, but he's not a leader," Maradona said to La Ultima Palabra Mexico on Fox Sports.

"Before talking to the Coach and players, he'll play on the PlayStation. Then, on the field, he wants to be the leader. He's the best in the world with Cristiano [Ronaldo].

"For me, it's difficult to say it but it's useless to make a leader out of a man who goes to the bathroom 20 times before a game.

In his career, Lionel Messi has so far won 32 trophies. nne La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies. Not to mention the five European Golden boots and five Balon d'Or balls.

To put Pele's quotes into further perspective, Messi was voted the greatest footballer of all time, beating the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Pele and Diego Maradona to the prestigious title.

In a four way poll, 26,104 people voted for their GOAT on Twitter, with five-time Balon d'Or winner Messi coming out on top with 44% of the vote.

Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo was a close second, receiving 36% of the vote while Pele and Diego Maradona came in third and fourth with 15% and 5% of the vote, respectively.

Thoughts on Pele's comments?

Let us know in the comments.

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Topics: SPORT, Football News, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Pele