Lionel Messi won his 7th Ballon d'Or this year to become the most decorated player in the history of the game when it comes to individual awards.
It was long being said that without winning an international trophy, Messi would never come into the conversation of being the absolute Greatest Footballer of All Time.
Now that he has won Copa America and dominated the entire tournament by winning all possible individual awards, the very argument of Messi being the greatest ever footballer is stronger than ever.
But, can we really call him the undisputed GOAT of Football?
Before the advent and rise of Messi and Ronaldo, Pele and Maradona dominated the conversation along with Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Zidane, Van Basten, Muller, Eusebio, Ronaldo Nazario, Baggio being some of the names which occasionally came up in the debate.
Pele being from the Brazilian league and Maradona being inconsistent for a large portion of his career were two of the most common arguments used by the critics in order to undermine one footballer in favour of the other.
But with Messi and Ronaldo being in the picture, all the previous debates faded, because two players being so dominant in the game when football has been elevated to a superior tactical level is quite unprecedented in history.
Again, among the two, Messi edges Ronaldo in terms of all individual accolades and honours. But, it would still not be fair to say that Messi is the greatest footballer the game has ever produced.
A few of Messi's 7 Ballon D'ORs are highly controversial, especially this year, Robert Lewandowski had an equal claim at the award.
Apart from this, the 2010 Ballon d’Or with Sneijder, the 2012 one with Iniesta and the 2019 one with Van Dijk are some of the most disputed awards claimed by Messi. And it can be fair to argue that Ballon d’Or cannot be the only criteria in selecting the GOAT as this is solely based on the votes of the journalists.
Apart from this, the debate heavily revolves around forwards and attacking midfielders which are not just for footballers playing other roles. Lev Yashin, Franz Beckenbauer and Paolo Maldini are often overlooked for being goalkeepers and defenders.
Also, Messi is yet to win the World Cup and it is widely regarded by the experts as one of the vital points of being the GOAT The 2014 WC Golden Ball cannot be brought to the picture as the award seemed more of a consolation prize for the losing Captain.
Football is a game with a lot of tactics, game plans and positions. To say that a specific player is the greatest to have ever graced the game can never be rationalised, as the statement itself rejects all the other aspects of the game.
While it can be said that Messi has surpassed Ronaldo in terms of achievements and as a player, which is still arguable to many, the GOAT debate cannot be rested yet.
