Mark Noble reveals what Manuel Lanzini told him about Argentina captain Lionel Messi
West Ham United legend Mark Noble has revealed what his former colleague Manuel Lanzini told him about Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Argentina maestro Lionel Messi.
It's indeed been a great year for Lionel Messi as the PSG superstar finally succeeded in leading Argentina to claim the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, after losing in the final against Germany back in 2014.
MESSI ⭐️ MESSI ⭐️
Our @adidas Golden Ball Award winner!
#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner recorded an impressive seven goals and three assists to his name at the World Cup. The triumph has fetched the 35-year-old a lot of applause, with Mark Noble joining a host of other footballing figures in singing Lionel Messi's praises. The Englishman told The Guardian:
"What it must be like to be Messi. He’s on another planet. I watched his documentary, and you look at the experience he had losing three Copa América finals in a row and losing the World Cup final and then always being compared to Maradona."
Mark Noble further said:
"He [Lionel Messi] is the greatest that’s ever walked the earth. I remember when Chelsea played against him and JT [John Terry] came flying across and he was on the touchline ready to try and body him into the stands and Messi stood there, took it and bounced JT."
Lionel Messi's World Cup Instagram post has become the most liked post by a sportsperson, overtaking Cristiano Ronaldo's post of himself and Messi playing chess 🐐 https://t.co/Y197GvHBqS
The Englishman went on to recall what Lanzini told him about Lionel Messi during their time together at West Ham United. Mark Noble stated:
"I also remember Manu Lanzini coming back from Argentina duty and I was like: ‘Oh mate, what was Messi like?’ Manu’s a genius with the ball but he said: ‘I swear to you, when he passed me the ball, I was so nervous because he was on my team.’ Manu said Messi would be floating about in training and then he would think: ‘Oh, do you know what? I want to win this game.’ And he’d score six goals."
Lionel Messi has provided the right answer to critics
After being heavily scrutinized for scoring just six Ligue 1 goals for PSG last season (2021-22), Lionel Messi has taken everyone by storm this year. He seized the World Cup to prove just why he can't be written off at any time.
Not only did he win the tournament, he did it being the best player and was awarded the Golden Ball award after contributing an impressive seven goals and three assists.
At club level, the 35-year-old has bagged 12 goals and 14 assists for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 19 appearances across all competitions so far this season. The Argentinian is also on course to win his eighth Ballon d'Or award in 2023, responding to his critics in a brilliant way.