Lionel Messi ranked in top three on ESPN’s greatest athlete of the 21st century

By
Roy Nemer
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50

Lionel Messi was ranked in the top three of ESPN’s greatest athlete of the 21st century.

Messi was the only football player coming in the top 10 of the list. The Argentine came in third, behind first place swimmer Michael Phelps and second place tennis player Serena Williams. Here is the list of top 10 players:

1: Michael Phelps
2: Serena Williams
3: Lionel Messi
4: LeBron James
5: Tom Brady
6: Roger Federer
7: Simone Biles
8: Tiger Woods
9: Usain Bolt
10: Kobe Bryant

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50 Comments

  1. Dadir10
    It would be better for you not to speak as clearly you lack an education. The song says French players of African descent. Denying one’s heritage is racism. Taking resources from another country to benefit your own, is exploitation. They are denying Africa of their own great talent. A great continent, that is now producing one of the greatest generations of players, being exploited by a colonial nation France. You really need to educate yourself instead of indoctrinating yourself. The song is true, Enzo is correct, and the French are a despicable people and nation.
    For all of you woke morons, including you, go read the history of Zidane, and his persecution for being Muslim by France.
    You see, you are the problem. The reason is because you are triggered by people using the term racism. I hope somebody doesn’t exploit you based on your heritage. You’d be too stupid to even know it.

  2. In terms of global impact, and contribution to their respective sports, Messi is far ahead of Serena Williams or Michael Phelps.

    I mean… How many people watch swimming LOL. People in far corners of the earth stay up nights to enjoy watching Lionel Messi play.

  3. I mentioned the afro- Argentines coz when you look the matches argentina beat brazil last time we struggled a lot. In last 3 matches all matches were either brazil created more threat within no time by some individual brilliance and pace by them coz of that african heritage. They just need that physicality and counter attack to outperform us which we lacks like in 2007 copa. To be frank i am always nervous whenever we face colombia, Ecuador than Chile or uruguay coz of that african factor. Those original african teams are always a himalayan task for us whatever our form is. They will force us to give all coz of that. Those blistering counters are nightmares for us. Even brazil whatever their form is their one move would cause havoc and dribble past the like even jesus and raphinha. I hope a black player would join argentina in the near future and ends this racist myth ideology rumoring.

  5. Please guys in lighting me which category they belong to likes acuna, cuti Romero, montiel definitely they are not white to me they are more black than white.

    • They are definitely not black. They all have european ancestry 90%. Rest indigenous may be. Thats why their face looks little bit native south American especially acuna/ di Maria etc. Messi, julian, macallister, lautaro, barco, otamendi, emi all are looking fully European to me.

      • The ancient Moors were black and looked ‘Sub-Saharan.’ Also, black or dark-skinned people don’t only come from Africa. All these designations are social constructs and political. Many Native Americans had dark skin. In India, there are people with darker skin than those in Africa. Throughout the Arab world, there are dark-skinned people, and New Zealand and Australia were 90% Aboriginal prior to the British committing genocide (today, less than 3%). Why does the world look the way it does today? Research the word ‘Eugenics,’ then you will understand ‘Darwin’s Theory of Evolution,’ which, by the way, the full title is actually ‘Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the PRESERVATION of FAVOURED RACES in the Struggle for Life.’ (This is why in Latin America, families love the relative with “green” or “blue” eyes – if you know, you know). Anyway, very interesting conversation on Mundo. However, history has been suppressed.

        • That is patiently untrue. Moors were Berbers. There are surviving statues, coinage etc from ancient North Africa that depict exactly what ancient Moors (Numidians et al) looked like, and they looked nothing like Sub-Saharan Africans.

          Kushites, Nubians etc looked more like Sub-Saharan Africans, and they had very little exchange with North Africans.

          Africa is a large continent with diverse ethnic legacy. It is quite racist to generalize all of Africa as “black”.

          • Very interesting. I myself have heard that there are actually Africans that have more of a genetic difference between them than Europeans and Asians. I’ve also heard that some people classify the pygmies and bushmen as outright different races from sub Saharan Africans. It certainly is easy to just use “black” because I can imagine sub Saharan are much greater in population than the others, but still something to think about

    • Mestizo, mixed European and indigenous ancestry, typically Spain is the country that provides the European mix, which is why they all tend to have Spanish surnames. The distribution depends on the person which is why some are darker/lighter than others. This group of people makes up a little over half of Argentina

  6. There is a rumor going on that Enzo Fernandez will receive a 15-game ban. I think that’s not even enough for his punishment. That fucking racist, stupid deserves to be banned an entire season. I’m sure when the likes of Marcos Rojo (the indigenous peoples of Latin America) see Enzo’s chants, they laugh at him and realize how idiot that boy is. Enzo is a migrant mocking of other migrants which shows the level of his stupidity.

    • It would be better for you not to speak as clearly you lack an education. The song says French players of African descent. Denying one’s heritage is racism. Taking resources from another country to benefit your own, is exploitation. They are denying Africa of their own great talent. A great continent, that is now producing one of the greatest generations of players, being exploited by a colonial nation France. You really need to educate yourself instead of indoctrinating yourself. The song is true, Enzo is correct, and the French are a despicable people and nation.
      For all of you woke morons, including you, go read the history of Zidane, and his persecution for being Muslim by France.
      You see, you are the problem. The reason is because you are triggered by people using the term racism. I hope somebody doesn’t exploit you based on your heritage. You’d be too stupid to even know it.

    • “Enzo’s chants”

      Do you lack basic comprehension? If you see the video, clearly, Enzo was not the only one singing it. To my memory at least six other players were depicted in the video alone which is bad quality and the vision being covered up by seats suggests that other players that were singing it might not have been visible.

      That means that at an absolute minimum, 5 players were singing it. In reality this was more likely up to 20 players because in all the videos you can see almost everyone chiming into the songs during the cycles. Why would Enzo get banned on not anyone else?

      Around half the players on the team are mestizo/castizo in origin, like Rojo who is, like you say, indigenous (in reality mestizo, doesn’t appear full indigenous at all and there are few without some European admixture). Enzo himself is also mestizo, clearly. Why the hell would Rojo get mad at Enzo when they are the same race? You can also see Palacios, just to name one, depicted there, who is also mestizo. I can go on and on. Enzo is clearly not just a “migrant” like Alvarez or Mac Allister, and obviously has indigenous blood. Assuming there are 20 players singing it, ten most likely would be similar to Rojo’s origin. Why would he hate Enzo specifically? Can’t you hear the whole team singing it in the background of the video?

  7. Is there any afro- argentines left in Argentina? I mean players with african origins becoming more and more decisive for a lot of europen teams. All are mostly stars.
    mbappe, gakpo, saka, yamal, nico williams. Only italy was the exception. And the result was italy is one of the worst teams in the euros. As the time goes by african players are dominating european teams. We need a winger with that African quality. Then we have a chance to dominate again.

    • ”Only italy was the exception. And the result was italy is one of the worst teams in the euros”
      Argentina is also the exception. Yet, we won the WC and back to back Copa. So what’s the conclusion?

      • I mean look at brazil. They are a majority white country. But still there world class players are all from african origin.
        Pele, ronaldinho, ronaldo, rivaldo, neymar marcelo,. Yes that brazilian flair with african physicality. And the list goes on. Even with minority african heritage they produce huge number of stars with african origin and they
        dominated football. We have Messi and he is once in a life time player. Dont expect another Messi soon. So my conclusion if we had that african origin player with that Argentine style that would definitely produce a world class one.

  8. I dont know how things will go from here. In next qualifiers we are playing for the first time without both messi and di maria. And again what if messi becomes a liability and his stubborn decision to play full minutes affects the NT like against ecuador? If messi comes back and continue in the NT will it be the same messi in the 2026 wc at 39 years old?
    Even julian playing as a winger is more suitable than garnacho for us. Thats why may be the odds are against us.
    Current dybala is just a 50% of current messi and is not at all a decisive player. Garnacho was lucky if he had chose Spain then he might have followed his idol and become a bench warmer. I couldn’t believe my eyes that spain produced two quality wingers with their history of passing game. Our midfielders have a big weight in their shoulders in the next matches.

    • In Argentina, there are 0 people of African origin playing in the league. Only African origin players found in Argentina are from Colombia and Uruguay. The natives of South America are not very dark. People from the Tamil land moved there (initially Polenesia and Easter Islands and finally South American shores). By now, they are highly mixed. Most of the statues and other ornaments, were the proof of their influence.The word Pachamama is a chaste Tamil word.

      • Thats bad. This is really an ugly situation. I mean in future if there is a prodigy occurs with both african and Argentine parents and has black colour then he wont choose argentina as this bad reputation and rumours about black players. This can affect.

  9. All I can say is screw France and their exploitation of African people. Yes, they are exploiting blacks. Sure, they may have been born in France, but ignoring their African heritage is racism and cultural appropriation. The Argentina song says literally French players with African heritage which is the truth. So rich of a country that has a long history of colonialism to blame a Latino country of racism. A bunch of woke fucktards is what they are. And Fofana or whatever the fuck his name is should grow a pair of testicles and talk to his teammate in person if he is offended, instead of shitting all over his teammate and his club because of his sensitive feelings. Not a guy I’d want in the trenches with me, weak minded weasel.

    • Sa I’m african man myself I have to i agree with you you are spot on French English Italian most of European are way too racists than Argentina

  10. Brazil’s 5 star is the one reason why Brazilian players are hot property in football market, that history made a huge scouting network of Europeans in Brazil. Brazil’s marketing also good.
    Together with that their players show flair in the game that’s attractive to fans and clubs.

    • I like a lot of our team, huge shame as per usual that our team is gutted of so many players (Paz, Redondo, Garnacho, Soule, Buonanotte, Carboni, Barco, Perrone) that would’ve made a HUGE difference. Soule had an impressive season and is ready to play at top clubs. Don’t know the logic of Carboni being at Copa and not the Olympics. I know it’s not our choice but it’s annoying that most of these players aren’t make or break for their clubs (Paz is literally a reserve player) and they still dictate things.

      Also worried that the Mascherano thing keeps on hurting us. I don’t see why it should be different from any of the multiple tournaments he’s already done for us. That U20 team was too good to lose to Nigeria. Already off to an unfortunate start but I am still hopeful. At the end of the day we care infinitely more about the WC and this serves to get some of our future teammates forming chemistry and to observe to see who is ready to get integrated into the senior squad, but it’s still nice to win it

      • Masche does not seem to be a good coach, he has had his chances and I fear that even with Rulli, Otamendi, Julian, Beltran, Almada he will not manage the group well. Never been a fan of his narrow 4-2-2-2 either, not sure the fullbacks he has (other than Soler) can actually provide width and bomb up and down.

  12. Tiger Woods lol, this guy has never moved over 5 miles per hour in his life, except when he is driving around drunk in a car. He is hardly an athlete, let alone one of the top 10 of all time.

  13. “In 2014, when Germany beat us, they imitated how gauchos walk and called us ignorant. In 2018, France mocked Messi for his height. We never came out to say we were being discriminated against”, wise words from De Paul hope more people can see this. To add further, in 2022 they mocked us for rigging the cup and being barbaric.

    French people are some of the most racist and disgusting people in the world, and they think they are better than everyone else. Their own footballing team’s actions reflect that.

  14. I hope nico can improve his game and decision making. Both nico and garnacho are awful in the final third. I hope they come out from the shell this season. It is a worrying sign than the full backs. Coz even if tagli and acuna are aging they are a safe bet. I also have hope in Molina and montiel. But the attack looks so thin. Dybala not an option and a safe bet. We need support for our strikers.

  15. “Endrick will officially become a Real Madrid player on July 21 when he turns 18. Real Madrid reached an agreement with Palmeiras for €35 million fixed plus €25 million in bonuses. This amount will be further increased by taxes, estimated by Marca to be approximately €12 million. The total deal will amount to around €72 million, in addition to the player’s salary, which will not exceed €10 million per year in the first two seasons.”

    Madrid paying €72 million for an untested player and Julian Alvarez selling for €13 million while Saudi trying to force Boca into selling Ezequiel Fernández for $12 million speaks volume about the level of trust top tier European clubs place in Argentine players. Our players need to prove themselves in tier-b leagues in Europe to earn a transfer to tier-1 leagues while Brazilian , French, Beligian and Spanish players are bought as soon as they show somekind of potential.

      • But the problem is from now onwards when facing brazil or other teams with fast wingers scaloni will be forced to play 4 midfielders to stop their attack. Coz we dont have a replacement for di maria. And if there is no messi means our team will struggle immensely due to our wingers lack of forward plays and misjudgement. I dont know how it ends up. Its upto scaloni. We need atleast a world class forward to get most from julian or lautaro.

    • That Exequiel Fernandez issue has annoyed me. Why can’t any club just pay his $15m release clause. That greedy agent should be ashamed of himself.

      • Yes the agents in Argentina are typically extremely greedy and oftentimes have involvement with Argentine sports media so that certain players get pushed by the system to inflate their value (never as much as they actually are though, just a little bit so the agent gets rich) and sold as quickly as possible to whomever. That’s why we’ve seen so many sudden sales to MLS or Brazil (and apparently now Saudi) at such young ages to players instead of waiting to take better care of their careers. It’s all greed and the system in Argentina is very corrupt and self interested

        This is the only way to explain the Echeverri saga. The kid wins his first trophy as a River player, the club of his dreams, at only 18 years old and the first thing he says is that he’s going to leave River soon. Weeks later, they sold him to Manchester City (for way too cheap, as per usual). He did that to pressure the club and it was obviously all orchestrated by his agent. He’s barely a starter at River and now he’s going to Manchester City? He’s obviously going to Girona first so it’s all a waste anyway. I’m scared that he’s going to experience the same situation Reiner did (Brazilian to Real Madrid), timing his move way too early.

    • This has been a problem for years and even after winning a whole World Cup with two of the top 5 players on the team (Enzo and Alvarez) literally playing in the local league six months before and being sold for under 40 million combined, this STILL happens. Obviously it’s no longer a reputation thing and it’s much deeper.

      I think this is an economics, marketing, business, and agents thing. No way after what Alvarez and Enzo pulled off in the WC are players like Equi being sold for 12 million (coincidentally 1 million under the peanuts Enzo was sold for)

      I think this might relate to the topic of privitization of clubs which is currently so contentious in Argentina that the president is coming out repeatedly to mention it. Clubs in Argentina have always been a social and cultural thing very different from Europe, you can pay monthly to be a “socio” (member) where you might even get access to certain things the club provides like pools, library, sports, etc. This allows you to vote for a president, it’s not an owner that owns it. For example, in Manchester United you wouldn’t be asking “glazers out”, they would’ve simply been voted out years ago.

      Some say privitization is way more efficient because of how businesses run. Many people in Argentina disagree because there have been bad experiences with privatized clubs in the past. I personally don’t like the idea of having offshore people own any club in Argentina and I hate the lifeless stuff like “RB Leipzig” with a brand name. Would detest any of that in Argentina. For sure regulations can be done to prevent things like that or offshore people owning clubs. I think my club River is very well run (on a financial level mostly) with the traditional system in place.

      Despite all this, I can’t help but shake off that it suddenly hit me that it MUST be this factor which causes these problems like our players being sold for cheap. It’s not reputation, as we should have it by now. It’s not that they just hate Argentina, I don’t think they view Brazil different from us. It might be that all the Brazilian clubs are privatized. I know this because as this debate in Argentina is going on one side of the argument always points to how clubs in Brazil are all privatized. I otherwise just can’t wrap my head around why Brazilians clubs sell players for 40, 50, 60, 70 million every year, and we sell literal world class, World Cup level talent for 13 million. It just simply has to relate to the way clubs are structured when it comes to owners, agents, connections, and other factors.

      What do you guys think? I know this is less discussed on here because it’s a political/business issue in Argentina and most members here are from other countries and thus it’s very difficult to possibly get involved in that debate or even know what’s going on. But from what I’ve seen, when it comes to local football, this is one of the most contentious things happening in sports in Argentina now. Again, the president of the nation has talked about it multiple times. I’m curious to see if anyone knows about this. This is all connected to where our players end up at and thus how our WC and Copas go. I just can’t think of another explanation for why our players get sold for so cheap compared to Brazil, when we roughly produce the same levels and amount of talent.

  16. 3 years of dominance of Argentina in football and still the likes of overrated Brazilians getting filled in top clubs. Savinho to manchester city. 😔. Look at the situation of our wingers. Only garnacho guaranteed his spot. I mean this season he needs to come out of that raw thing. Or else he will be benched and that leads to his carrer in the NT looks vulnerable. Nico doesn’t look like a starter. But we need him still. Then carboni and soule. Waiting.
    I mean even with consecutive 4 trophies both France and Brazil is the favourite for the 2026 wc. This means our Argentine team is analysed by the public as a messi dependent team. We need get out from that myth by going for the glory with the same passion and uniqueness. Come on Argentina. Lets start again.

    • And yet we continue to win trophies, so that’s what matters most, not overrated Brazilians. Brazil has a whole bunch of those supposedly talented wingers in Vinicius, Rodrygo, Raphinha, Savinho, Antony, etc and yet they rarely make an impact in the NT.

      By the way, Nico Gonzalez is very much a starter and a key player for Fiorentina…

      • I mean nico is not a starter for NT in tough matches. Doesn’t matter whether he is a starter or a sub in fiorentina. He showed that he is not an elite level forward like di maria. But we need him due to his physique and pressing and is fit in the scaloni system against physical teams with mid quality.
        But against elite teams we need a pure winger with quality going forward. Or else it would be tough to score with aged Messi.
        If we have a great winger then our midfield would do their job neat as all our midfielders are great in passing and pressing.

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