The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lionel-Messi-c22296 has overtaken the controversial Maradona but has a significant distance to cover to overshadow Pele.
March has seen Lionel Messi at the height of his abilities, smashing one record after another to claim the mantle of the world’s best player.
The pint-sized attacker was rampant against Bayer Leverkusen as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 thrashed their German rivals 7-1 in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 fixture.
Messi hit the back of the net five times at the Camp Nou to become the first player in the history of the competition to do so.
His goal scoring feat at the expense of the Bundesliga outfit made him the highest scorer in the knockout phase of the elite European club competition, and on course to become the leading scorer of the tournament for the fourth consecutive time.
The Rosario-born attacker followed his exploits in Europe with impressive performances in La Liga, over taking Cesar Sanchez as the leading goal scorer for Barcelona, taking his tally to 235 goals and 94 assists in 315 competitive outings.
Retired Brazilian international, Tostao, was full of praise for the Barcelona hitman and believes he is head over shoulders as compared to his contemporaries.
Continuing on the praise, the 65-year-old opined that Messi is arguably better than Maradona with his big match pedigree but has yet to overtake Pele as the best ever.
"Even if you do not take the cold numbers of how many trophies he has won and how many goals he has score into account, I have no doubt about it that he [Messi] is already better than Maradona."
"Many will disagree because he has not won a World Cup or scored a wondergoal in a big game at the World Cup, but at his current level he is only behind Pele in my opinion.”
"http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pele-c40189 was more complete and had qualities that Messi lacks. He scored many headers for example, and make excellent use of his body."
With the Messi bandwagon bludgeoning with his every outing, the 24-year-old will look to give more fodder to his critics as he leads Barcelona against AC Milan at the San Siro for the Champions League quarter-final first leg.
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