Barcelona of Spain sensation, Lionel Messi may end being one of the biggest losers from the ongoing suspension to football action across the world, due to the influx of coronavirus, as his international figures with Argentina have been further threatened by the postponement of Copa America, megasportsarena.com reports.
A lot has always been said about Messi’s relative lack of success on the world stage, as he keeps falling short with Argentina and a major international trophy the only thing missing from his otherwise stellar resume.
The 32-year-old has won everything there is to win with Barcelona – 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues making up just part of a trophy haul which leaves him as one of the most decorated players in the game’s history – and he has also been awarded every individual honour worth winning, including an unmatched six Ballons d’Or.
However, in the eternal argument of who is the greatest player of all time, lack of international silverware is the main stick with which it is possible to beat Messi; as Pele has an unparalleled haul of three World Cups, Diego Maradona almost single-handedly dragged Argentina to the pinnacle of the game in 1986, while Cristiano Ronaldo helped Portugal to the Euro 2016 crown.
Messi has come close – he won the Golden Ball en route to the World Cup final in 2014 and has finished on the losing side in three editions of the Copa America final, before picking up a bronze medal last year.
South American fans have not been deprived of a major international tournament for as long as their European counterparts, such that shifting Copa America till next year could have an impact on arguably the world’s greatest ever footballer.
It is difficult to keep track of the swathes of sporting events which have been affected by the escalating coronavirus crisis, with just about every sport in every part of the world feeling the impact of the pandemic.
As the most popular and widespread sport on the planet, football has unsurprisingly dominated many of the headlines, and Tuesday was a particularly momentous day in terms of the already-unprecedented level of disruption to the calendar.
Club competitions such as the Premier League, EFL, FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League had already been suspended, and UEFA have now confirmed that Euro 2020 will follow suit, being delayed for 12 months until 2021.
Soon after that announcement, UEFA’s South American equivalent CONMEBOL revealed that the Copa America will now also take place next year, having initially been moved to 2020 in order to bring it in line with the European Championship, and Messi could now become the biggest loser.
The word out of South American now is that coronavirus could affect Messi’s claim to be the greatest of all time, despite winning the Golden Ball en route to the World Cup final in 2014 and has finished on the losing side in three editions of Copa America final, before picking up a bronze medal last year.
South American fans have not been deprived of a major international tournament for as long as their European counterparts – just last year Brazil lifted the Copa America crown – but the decision could still have an impact on arguably the world’s greatest ever footballer.
The word out of South America now is that coronavirus could affect Messi’s claim to be the greatest of all time, even as club competitions such as the Premier League, EFL, FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League had already been suspended, and UEFA have now confirmed that Euro 2020 will follow suit, being delayed for 12 months until 2021.
Soon after that announcement, UEFA’s South American equivalent CONMEBOL revealed that the Copa America will now also take place next year, having initially been moved to 2020 in order to bring it in line with the European Championship.
