A Messi return to the MLS 2.0 era
The signing of Lionel Messi is great for Marketing. Is it going to work on the pitch though?
Let’s start by putting all my cards on the table.
I am a Lionel Messi fan. How can you not be? In my opinion, he is the greatest player to play the game during the era when I followed it the closest. The comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo are silly to me. It’s not close. It’s Messi by miles, even before you consider the differences in the player’s personalities or the allegations against Ronaldo.
That was an opinion I held prior to Argentina’s triumph at the World Cup. His victory there only underlined my GOAT opinion.
There is no doubt that even at 36 years of age, this is the most talented player to ever come to MLS.
It’s not like he has declined greatly either. Although, Messi isn’t playing at the other-worldly level he did during Barcelona’s glory years, he was still pretty damn good for PSG last season.
According to Whoscored, Messi was in the top 10 in several offensive stats in Ligue 1.
He ranked:
— 1st in assists with 16
— 9th in goals with 16
— 2nd in shots per 90 with 4.0
— 2nd in dribbles per 90 with 3.3
If you are a Miami fan, what you like about those numbers is that they are indicating that he is still creating his own opportunities. Both the dribbles and Sp90 numbers are what you would hope to see.
One can argue about what the quality of Ligue 1 is as compared to MLS. I happen to believe that the French league is slightly better than MLS, but that the two leagues are closer than what MLS critics would suggest. Few will argue that MLS is a better league, so there is no reason why he can’t put up numbers similar to his PSG output for Miami.
Well, there’s no reason he can’t do that so long as you play the season in a vacuum and don’t factor in any of MLS’s quirks or differences.
Or Messi’s motivation. That’s the big one right there.
It’s hard to blame Miami and MLS for doing this. It’s Lionel Messi, for God’s sake. Of course you sign him. The business argument is obvious. This will create incredible interest. It will be short term interest, for most (not a lot of Drogba jerseys at Stade Sapudo these days, right?), but getting eyes on the product is never a bad thing. It worked 15 years ago with David Beckham, so it stands to reason they are rolling it out again now.
As for the soccer argument, I’ve already laid out the numbers above that show that it can be a big success. I’m a fan of the player. As stated, I think he’s the best player of his generation.
And, I think this is going to be a bust.
Caveat — At least initially. The league may tweak the rules in a year or so to allow more talent to surround him in Miami. This is MLS, so you can’t discount the goalposts being moved. For now, however, let’s work under the assumption that things stay as they are.
How can I possibly think Messi won’t tear up MLS and help Miami become the best tea in the league? Well, largely because I just don’t see how he will have the drive he will need to carry a really bad Miami team on his back. His 36 year old back.
There was a photo going around today that showed Messi grocery shopping in Miami. What jumped out to me in that photo were the three boxes of Super Size breakfast cereals. we’re talking Fruit Loops and Reece’s Pieces here. This is not the breakfast of champions. It’s the breakfast of someone looking to finally be able to let himself go a little.
Maybe the cereal is for his kids, you might argue. Fair. It might be. I still struggle to think he’s going to want to fight through the heat and the travel and the referees, the constant media attention and getting the crap kicked out of him by guys he’s never heard of.
He’s already done everything he can in the sport. Does he really care about winning MLS Cup?
Even if he does, is Miami capable of putting a team around him that can? That’s an even bigger question, really, since Miami has been a dumpster fire since it launched. They also seem hellbent on following the grab-a-couple-superstars-and-hope approach to team building that is clearly no longer working in MLS (hello TFC!).
So, yeah, I think this is going to be, um, messy.
I’ll be watching though. I suppose that’s the point, isn’t it?
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