BENJAMIN OMOIKE
Former Premier League defender Danny Mills has made the bold claim that Lionel Messi wouldn’t fit into any side in the Premier League’s top six.
The PSG star, 35, was linked with a move to the Premier League before signing for the French club last summer, but struggled for form in his debut season, scoring just 11 times in all competitions.
The Argentine did help PSG win the Ligue 1 title, but his form was a far cry from the exploits seen during his Barcelona days, and Mills believes he wouldn’t be good enough for any of the top six in the Premier League.
‘Would you take Lionel Messi right now? Probably not,’ Mills said on talkSPORT when asked if the 35-year-old would be good enough for the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and even Manchester United.
The former England defender did proclaim Messi as the greatest footballer he’d ever seen, putting him above stellar names such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Johan Cruyff. However, that status still wouldn’t be enough to see him break into the Premier League’s elite, says Mills.
It’s an opinion that wasn’t shared with football fans, who took to Twitter to share their disagreement with the talkSPORT pundit.
One fan called it ‘the worst football opinion’ he’s ever heard, while another called Mills’ comments a sackable offence.
Others did find some sense in the idea of Messi not managing to get into Manchester City’s all-star side, but as another fan argued, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s stats still hold up against City star Kevin De Bruyne when you compare the two.
Messi will be heading into the new campaign under new management with PSG, after they finally parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino this week.
Former Nice coach Christophe Galtier is the man replacing him, and becomes the latest manager to oversee PSG’s Champions League challenge.
