Gary Lineker believes Messi cemented his status as the greatest player in football history as he led Argentina to World Cup glory.
Ahead of the new season, Lineker revealed who the “best player” he has ever seen is, what his transfer value would be in today’s market and how his future career at Barcelona has influenced him.
Lineker described the 2022 World Cup final as “absolutely crazy” after France and Argentina were given extra time to determine a winner. The match cemented Lionel Messi’s status as the “greatest of all time” for Lineker.
“For me, [él es] The best player I’ve ever seen. [Messi] It has given me immense pleasure for two decades. And it just does things mere mortals can’t,” Lineker said GOAL. “It’s a joy to watch him. I watch every game he plays. Even on his quiet days, he’s going to do three or four things that I don’t think I’ve done once in my entire career.” .
“He stopped all the debates in a way.”
Lineker remains the only Englishman to wear a Barcelona shirt since World War II. He wore the emblem of the club in which Messi made his name, played 102 games for the Blaugrana and scored 42 goals. Most memorable was a hat-trick in El Clásico where Lineker scored twice in the first five minutes of the match.
“It was the first one I played at Camp Nou, and I scored two goals in the first five minutes, both very close, and I got goosebumps. The sound was incredible… 120,000 fans,” he said. “It was about five minutes into the second half. I went one-on-one with a goalkeeper who I think was Buyo… I gave him a shot and when I saw him come in, it was just magical. “
Reflecting on his career abroad and in England, Lineker jokingly told GOAL that if he played in his prime today, the value of his transfer would make it the third most expensive deal ever.
“Well, someone recently translated it. They said if you take that into account and all the things that have changed, inflation, all that stuff, that would have valued me about $140 million… what a bargain.”
Watch the full episode of Box to Box on GOAL’s YouTube channel
Source: Goal