Steven Gerrard once claimed Liverpool flop was better than Lionel Messi, his quotes haven’t aged well

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard once claimed a Liverpool flop was better than Lionel Messi.

Last night seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi essentially completed football. In his 26th and final World Cup match, Messi emulated Diego Maradona’s 1986 heroics by dragging Argentina to World Cup glory.

The 35-year-old can now add the World Cup trophy to his four Champions Leagues, one Copa America, 10 La Liga titles with Barcelona and a Ligue 1 trophy with Paris Saint-Germain.

After a history of World Cup heartache and disappointment stretching back to 2006, which includes losing to Germany in the 2014 final, Messi has finally secured the one trophy that had until then alluded him.

For some, yesterday’s triumph finally put to bed the age-old argument over who the greatest footballer of all time (GOAT) might be. Others had maintained it remains Messi’s predecessor Maradona, or Brazil star Pele. Some claim the GOAT was Dutch maestro Johan Cruyff or Zinedine Zidane; maybe even George Best or Ronaldo Garnacho. George Weah is sometimes touted, as are Ferenc Puskás and Alfredo Di Stéfano...

It is near-impossible to compare players from different eras, but one thing yesterday's game certainly concluded was the most tedious and common comparison football debate of them all. Messi is now, without a doubt, undisputedly a better footballer than… Joe Cole.

Joe Cole is better than Messi

The year is 2010 and Liverpool have made a spate of signings. Under new manager Roy Hodgson the Reds are hopeful of putting the horror of the previous season's seventh-place finish behind them and entering a bright new era.

To mark the new age Liverpool have signed the likes of Paul Konchesky, Fábio Aurélio, Milan Jovanovic, Jonjo Shelvey, and Christian Poulsen. But the marquee signing is none other than Chelsea and England star Cole.

Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but Gerrard’s claims that Cole was better than Messi were even outlandish then.

After Cole was signed on a Bosman, the then-Reds captain told Match of the Day magazine (via the Guardian): "[Lionel] Messi can do some amazing things, but anything he can do Joe can do as well, if not better.

“He used to shock us in training by doing footy tricks with a golf ball that most players can't even do with a football. I really fancy Joe for the [player of the year] award this season."

Cole endured a difficult first year at Liverpool and was subsequently loaned out to Lille. Meanwhile, Messi scored 53 goals in all competitions as Barcelona went on to win La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup and the Champions League.

Topics: Football, Steven Gerrard, Lionel Messi, Liverpool

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.