I said it before and I am saying it again, I wanna see this boy succeeding without the likes of Xavi, Iniesta around him, the way Maradona and Pele during their time, then I will shut up and applaud as the best I ever watched!!!!

Maradona and Pele were both surronded by fantastic players in their respective national teams, same thing can be said about Zidane in France and Real Madrid. I can't blame Messi for not performing well while featuring for Argentina, he's the only creative they have at the moment.... Maradona only scored 34 goals in 91 appearances for Argentina yet he's considered one of the greatest footballers, Messi has scored 17 form 58 appearances....i believe there's more to come from him at only 24 yrs Old. His performances for the national team have not been convincing but then again neither has Ronaldo's for Portugal and Rooney for England.

How crucial were 34 goals Maradon scored for Argentina, don't try to compare Maradona's service to Argentina with Messi, at least not yet, maybe he will do some wonders in the days to come.....and did you just say that Messi is the only creative player in Argentina currently....my goodness!!!!

.......nobody said they are equal to Messi but the fact remains they are very good players!!!!

aiiii @ freiks, ati Messi is hyped up and protected by refs in Spain...this is the same guy who makes a point of tearing English opposition SINGE-HANDEDLY whenever he gets a chance and i must say i've never seen or heard anyone suggest that he goes down too easily, infact in most cases he stays up even when tackled. Playing for Argentina might not be working for him but at the moment he's the best player in the World without a doubt. I always wonder why people always blame him when Argentina fail to perform. Some players like Miroslav Klose and Ronaldo (retired) used to play well when featuring for their National team lakini kwa club ni ABK.

@Bkismat....i know they guy played at Inter, Barca, Milan and Real scored goals but for me i preferred his performances while playing for Brazil. Actually its the World cup which made him a major target for top teams.

Messi will come good. Its just a matter of time.

@ Jus Blazin, i don't think its fair to compare Messi to Pele because in most cases the Argentine plays as an attacking midfielder and not a striker....we somehow believe that he has to score to be considered a great player. If you expect him to score as many goals as Pele definitely that will never happen. Messi is the best player of our generation, he has a combination of several skills which no other footballer posseses at the moment and he has achieved so much with Barca. I still expect him to be either the winner or runners-up in this year's player of the year. At 24 he can only get better.

Our generation is different definitely, but in mine the best remains Zidane followed closely by Ronaldo the phenomenon!!!!

@ Mwenza....Wacha mambo ya what you used to hear, Maradona might have been a good player but unfortunately i can't lie to you that i used to watch him play in the 80's, hizo siku TV ilikuwa shida kupata...labda recorded clips. The 90's (especially at Napoli) was all about his stories with cocaine and other bad news. Messi has been at Barca since he was 16, i don't think i need to remind anyone of his achievements there...we can't possibly tell how he'll perform in another club because at the moment its very difficult to put a price tag on him.

The guy has only featured in 2 World Cups; in 2006 alikuwa bench but when brought in he scored a goal and also became the youngest Argentine player to ever represent the country in a WC. Actually if you look at his stats for the National team he's been mostly used as a sub. In 2007 Copa America he scored in almost all matches and helped Argentina reach the final...2008 he literally won the Olympics for them. In last year's WC he was Argentina's playmaker and was almost at the centre of all their goals. At the moment he's almost at Par with great Maradona but he still has so many years ahead of him.

@ Mc Reggae....Zidane is also up there with the greats.