Messi’s team once defeated the teams of Ronaldo, Neymar and Mbappe in three major finals.1. Beat Ronaldo in the 2008/09 Champions League final
The performance in the 2008/09 Champions League final officially made Messi a world star. Only 1m69 tall, he jumped higher than the MU defenders, headed the ball and left goalkeeper Van der Sar standing still. The goal sealed the 2-0 victory over Ronaldo and his teammates, bringing Barca the 3rd Champions League.
Barca’s sextuple triumph opened the era of tiki-taka philosophy’s dominance. Not only did Barca enter a brilliant period, but the Spanish national team also achieved great success with a 2010 World Cup and a 2012 Euro thanks to applying this philosophy.
2. Defeat Neymar in the 2021 Copa America final
- Neymar has yet to win a trophy with Brazil, partly because of the clash with Messi’s Argentina. Last summer, Di Maria’s only goal made Brazil former champions.
Messi was the tournament’s best player, sharing the title with Neymar. Messi led both goalscoring and assists. He was involved in a total of 9 goals, accounting for 75% of Argentina’s total. Neymar was involved in 5 goals, equivalent to 42% of Brazil’s goals.
Despite the defeat, Neymar still sat and chatted happily with his senior in the tunnel.
3. Win against Mbappe in the 2022 World Cup final
Mbappe’s absent-minded eyes after kicking Argentina’s goal four times but the French team still lost said it all. Mbappe played great, but Messi and his teammates were even better. The Argentinian conductor scored 2 goals, broke a series of great records and completed a collection of noble titles to take the title of GOAT (Greatest of all time: Greatest in history).
