"They should say that I'm the Manu of football" - PSG superstar Lionel Messi makes incredible claim on legendary NBA player Manu Ginobili
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward Lionel Messi was humbled when a journalist compared him to NBA star Manu Ginobili.
Ginobili is one of the greatest basketball players to come out of Argentina. The former San Antonio Spurs star has also been inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.
A journalist then compared Ginobili to the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner. The Argentine, however, made a modest comment stating that it should have been the other way around.
The former Barcelona man was quoted as saying the following by journalist Roy Nemer (via Twitter):
"It makes me very proud to hear a journalist Say that Manu is the Messi of basketball. In fact they should say that I am the Manu of football."
Game recognise game 💯
Last night, @manuginobili was inducted to the @Hoophall 👏
Here’s what Lionel Messi had to say: https://t.co/wmZNysdZCC
Similar to the PSG forward, Ginobili has also achieved a lot in his sporting career. The Argentine basketball player has won the NBA title four times in his career. He was also twice named an NBA All-Star during his time with the San Antonio Spurs.
It is worth mentioning that both players have one thing in common as they have won Olympic gold medals with their respective national teams.
Ginobili won the gold medal in basketball during the 2004 Olympic Games contested in Athens, Greece. Argentina also won a bronze medal four years later in Beijing, China. Ginobili was part of that squad as well.
Messi, on the other hand, won the gold medal four years later when he guided Argentina to a victory over Nigeria in the gold medal match in 2008.
Both players have also finished runners-up in the World Cup for their respective sports. Ginobili was part of the Argentina team which lost in the 2002 FIBA World Championship final to Yugoslavia.
The PSG man, meanwhile, suffered heartbreak during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil when his Argentina team lost to Germany in the final.
Lionel Messi's wonderful assist guided PSG to a victory over Brest
Lionel Messi provided an excellent assist to fellow strike partner Neymar Jr. as PSG recorded a narrow 1-0 win over Brest in Ligue 1 on Saturday (September 10).
He lobbed the ball over the Brest defense to find Neymar, who scored past the goalkeeper's far post.
Most league assists provided in Europe's top five divisions in 2022:
17 - Lionel Messi ↑
16
15
14
13 - Ousmane Dembélé
12
11 - Kevin De Bruyne
Mind the gap.
The Argentine has been the the creative force in the free-scoring PSG team this season. The former FC Barcelona skipper has contributed four goals and seven assists in just nine appearances for PSG across all competitions.