The greatest of all time, popularly known as G.O.A.T, is one of the most raging debates in football. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the two names that have commonly cropped up when talking about the greatest footballer of all time. Many feel that Messi probably settled the debate once and for all having led Argentina to a FIFA World Cup triumph in Qatar last year. German international Thomas Muller has now echoed a similar sentiment. When asked to pick his G.O.A.T, the Bayern Munich forward named Messi.
“Who is the greatest of all time? The GOAT for me is Messi because he makes people say 'I go to the stadium because of his elegance' and at the same time, he is very effective in scoring goals and achieving records and titles. Cristiano is also a strong candidate in two categories which are stats and titles, but Messi is simply more subtle and elegant,” Muller told DAZN.
Thomas Muller recently praised Lionel Messi for scoring an astounding goal against Nashville SC in the Leagues Cup final. Reacting to a video of Messi’s opening goal of the game, the 33-year-old came up with three clap emojis on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
Muller, however, had issued a somewhat different opinion earlier this year in March. Taking a sly Champions League dig at Messi, the German had said that former Real Madrid talisman Ronaldo used to cause them a massive problem. “Against Messi, things always go well at all levels in terms of results. At club level, Cristiano Ronaldo was our problem when he was at Real Madrid. But I have the greatest respect for Messi's World Cup performance. Messi’s individual performance at the World Cup was amazing. He carried the whole squad. It’s not so easy to play at a team like PSG. It’s difficult to get a really good team balance,” Muller had said.
{{/usCountry}}Muller, however, had issued a somewhat different opinion earlier this year in March. Taking a sly Champions League dig at Messi, the German had said that former Real Madrid talisman Ronaldo used to cause them a massive problem. “Against Messi, things always go well at all levels in terms of results. At club level, Cristiano Ronaldo was our problem when he was at Real Madrid. But I have the greatest respect for Messi's World Cup performance. Messi’s individual performance at the World Cup was amazing. He carried the whole squad. It’s not so easy to play at a team like PSG. It’s difficult to get a really good team balance,” Muller had said.
{{/usCountry}}Thomas Muller’s comments came after his side Bayern Munich had eliminated Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), which starred Lionel Messi, from last season’s Champions League. During his stint in Barcelona, Messi had to face an infamous 8-2 defeat at the hands of the Bavarian giants back in 2020.
After completing an impressive stint in the European circuit, Messi completed his move to United States side Inter Miami this summer. The Argentine has already guided the Herons to their first-ever Leagues Cup victory earlier this month. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has till now netted 10 goals in eight appearances for the Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit. In his last outing, Messi provided two assists against FC Cincinnati in the Open Cup semi-finals. Inter Miami prevailed over their opponents 5-4 in penalty shootout to reach the final stage.