“Never cared about how much I run”, “Sorry to coaches” - Lionel Messi makes his stance clear on paying attention to statistics and data
Argentina and Inter Miami skipper Lionel Messi has claimed that statistics do not mean much to him, even the performance-related ones. The mercurial forward is currently in the USA with the Argentina national team for their Copa America title defense, which began with a 2-0 win over Canada.
For most of his professional career, Messi has been considered among the best players in the world and he has justified that with his performances. Now 37, the Barcelona legend has achieved everything in the sport, including winning the Ballon d'Or an unprecedented eight times.
Recently, speaking in an interview with Juan Pablo Varsky, the Inter Miami star claimed that he did not care about statistics, even his running numbers or his speed. He acknowledged why coaches would want to study such data, but clarified they did not matter to him.
"I don't pay attention to statistics, data, assists, or goals. And sorry to the coaches, but even less to GPS. I've never cared about how much I run in a match or at what speed.
"It must be important for them and for day-to-day training loads, but I've never been a fan of GPS," he said.
Lionel Messi is often seen trudging around the pitch during games looking disinterested out of possession, and he generally does not contribute much defensively. The forward more than makes up for it with his output, with managers such as Pep Guardiola and Lionel Scaloni identifying the need to have someone else run for him.
Lionel Messi criticizes widespread adoption of Guardiola style
Lionel Messi spoke about the widespread adoption of the Pep Guardiola school of thought in football in an interview with Juan Pablo Varsky. The Argentine superstar was critical of how young kids are being made to lose their spontaneity in football today.
"The Guardiola era has caused a bit of confusion. Everyone wants to play like that now. They tell 6/7 year olds to play with two touches quickly. At that age, what happened to me needs to happen for these kids… we shouldn’t take away their spontaneity," Messi said.
Messi thrived under Guardiola at Barcelona, scoring 211 goals and providing 94 assists in 219 matches under the Spaniard.