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Gary Lineker Brilliantly Defends Lionel Messi About Not Winning The World Cup

Gary Lineker Brilliantly Defends Lionel Messi About Not Winning The World Cup

He's also compared him to Argentina icon Diego Maradona.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

The age-old question - 'Ronaldo or Messi' - has resurfaced with Gary Lineker weighing in on the pair of footballing gods.

Ronaldo and Messi have won countless trophies at club level for Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively. From the La Liga title to the Champions League, while also claiming the prestigious Ballon d'Or award.

But the Portuguese superstar added an international honour to his silverware collection in the shape of the 2016 European Championships.

Messi celebrates scoring for Argentina. Image: PA
Messi celebrates scoring for Argentina. Image: PA
Argentina celebrate winning qualification. Image: PA
Argentina celebrate winning qualification. Image: PA

Something the Argentine maestro can't say. And La Albiceleste's involvement in the 2018 World Cup was on the brink until Messi produced heroics to send them to Russia.

He'll be hoping to raise gold with Argentina this summer. But he doesn't need to prove himself to Lineker who's defended him about not winning any major international trophies.

"I never thought that I'd see someone better than [Diego] Maradona," the Match of the Day host told Marca.

"They say that Maradona won a World Cup and Messi hasn't, but Leo has four Champions League titles and Maradona has none."

Has he got a point?

Messi cuts a dejected figure at the 2014 World Cup. Image: PA
Messi cuts a dejected figure at the 2014 World Cup. Image: PA
Messi collects his runners-up medal. Image: PA
Messi collects his runners-up medal. Image: PA

And while Lineker is a big fan of Ronaldo, he believes Messi is from another world.

"I like Cristiano a lot, but Messi is from another world," he added.

He was then quizzed again: "Ronaldo or Neymar?"

"Neymar is the future, [although] Cristiano has been very, very good. Neymar is a great player. I like him a lot."

While giving a shout out to Spurs star Harry Kane who's scoring for fun this season.

"For the future? Harry Kane, for the future" Lineker added.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Gary Lineker, Football News, Football, Lionel Messi

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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