Lionel Messi, Best player in the world?

Dubai: On Monday, the world of football was marking 25-year-old Messi’s goalscoring feat. Gulf News spoke to its readers for their reaction to his record-breaking achievement in scoring 86 goals in a calendar year.

Mazin Mohammad Saleh, a 22-year-old Sudanese student based in Sharjah and a Barcelona team supporter, hailed Messi as an outstanding player. However, he believes credit should also go to his team’s midfielders.

He said “I believe that the midfielders, specifically [Andrés] Iniesta and Xavier [Hernandez], helped him beat this record.”

Saleh believes that it is unlikely Messi’s record will be broken. “I don’t think anyone else will have Messi’s talent coupled with such a great team to support him.”

Omnia Adel Al Dahshouri, a 23-year-old administrative assistant and a die-hard football fan, said: “Messi really has an unmatched talent; his upper-body strength really enhances his performance as a player.”

She, too, doubts his record will be beaten anytime soon. “He’s still very young and will be around for a long time. He’s not the best player in the world, but he is definitely one of the best.”

Another reader, Praveen Raj, was full of admiration for Messi. He said: “Everything about him makes him such a great player; his talent and energy and presence in the field. The only person who will ever beat this record will be himself. After [Diego] Maradona, Messi is definitely the best football player ever.”

Ehab Hasan, an American-Palestinian project co-ordinator based in Dubai, disagreed with the general opinion that Messi’s landmark goals tally will never be beaten. He feels that there will always be new and more talented players to challenge the mark. Hasan said: “Every generation of footballers is built to be more competitive for a changing style of play. I’m pretty sure no one knew that Muller’s record would be broken before Messi came into play.”

Hasan believes many factors make Messi an amazing player. He said: “The fact that he has a small build and is more agile than the others helps harbour his intense skill. You cannot forget that he plays with a team that support him and they too are full of talent.”

- The writer is a trainee at Gulf News