Barça boys stick together- Lineker defends Messi after Pelé jibes

Gary Lineker has responded emphatically to claims about Lionel Messi, as made by football icon Pelé in a revealing interview this week. 

Brazilian Pelé was very critical of the Barcelona star, who he says 'has only one skill', as opposed to the variety of skills he himself possed during his time as a professional footballer. 

In light of the Ballon d'or awards this week, the ability of Messi and great rival Ronaldo have been up for debate; especially that of the Argentine, who incredibly, only came fifth in the recent Player of the Year rankings. 

Enter Pelé, who continued to twist the knife into Messi's wounds, by claiming that the Argentine should not even be remotely compared with him. 

However after these scathing words from a player, who many regard as the best footballer of all time, former Barcelona  and England forward Gary Lineker thought to step to the defence of Messi. 

A staunch fan and admirer of the Argentine, Lineker showed his displeasure at hearing the comments of Pelé towards the Barcelona talisman. 

 

December 6, 2018

On his personal social media page, the 'BT Sport' and 'Match of the Day' presenter simply wrote: "If this is how you judge players then the same would apply to Maradona. Utter nonsense."

Messi, who many others consider to rival Pelé for the accolade of best footballer of all time, has won the Ballon d'Or five times. 

Among his many other honours sit four Champions League crowns, nine La Liga titles and six Copa del Rey trophies.

Yet many still argue that Messi can never truly rival Pelé for the 'Best of all time' accolade without achieving international sucess with Argentina. 

And so, with that, the debate rumbles on...