{"id":257481,"date":"2025-10-28T22:57:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T22:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/257481\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T22:57:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T22:57:08","slug":"lionel-messi-picks-his-soccer-goat-who-transcended-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/257481\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi Picks His Soccer GOAT Who \u2018Transcended Everything\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lionel Messi was recently asked to reveal who he considers the greatest athletes of all time, and in true Argentinian fashion, he was unable to answer without bringing up soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona. <\/p>\n

The Inter Miami <\/a>star was interviewed by NBC<\/a> before the start of the MLS<\/a> Cup playoffs. Messi smirked as the interviewer recognized him as a GOAT and he then proceeded to shower praise upon Maradona, honoring him with the greatest ever status. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously for us Argentinians [Diego] Maradona was always our greatest idol and our greatest admiration for everything he meant for us,\u201d Messi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though I was little and I only saw him play live a few times, Diego transcended everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lionel<\/p>\n

Diego Maradona (right) managed Lionel Messi and Argentina in the 2010 World Cup. \/ Juan Mabromata\/AFP\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Messi was born almost exactly a year after Maradona led Argentina to World Cup<\/a> glory in 1986. \u201cEl Diego\u2019s\u201d success with La Albiceleste, made him almost a god-like figure in Argentina.<\/p>\n

For much of Messi\u2019s career, he carried the burden of matching Maradona\u2019s triumphs. It wasn\u2019t until he led Argentina to conquer its third World Cup in 2022\u2014the country\u2019s first since \u201986\u2014that he was finally able to escape Maradona\u2019s shadow in his home country. <\/p>\n

But Messi didn\u2019t keep his answer strictly to soccer. The Miami forward also spoke about other athletes across sports that he considers to be the worthy of greatest of all time status.<\/p>\n

GOAT things. \ud83d\ude0f<\/p>\n

Messi x @KingJames<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/HBtkucee4w<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 22, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n

Apart from Maradona, Messi focused in particularly on some of the best tennis<\/a> and NBA<\/a> players. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to other sports, obviously I think the same thing happened with [Michael] Jordan [comparing him to how Maradona transcended everything],\u201d Messi said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI really admire tennis players like [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal and [Novak] Djokovic. I think all three of them made the competition much bigger than it was before.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure I\u2019m forgetting a lot of athletes, but to highlight a few, I\u2019d say them. To name a few from basketball, LeBron [James], Steph [Curry] are players I admire a lot. I think they gave a lot to the sport they play.\u201d<\/p>\n

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