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A former Argentina star said Lionel Messi's performance at the World Cup was not as impactful as Emiliano Martinez.
Former Argentina international goalkeeper Hugo Gatti believes Emiliano Martinez had a greater input in ensuring the Albiceleste win their third World Cup title in Qatar than Lionel Messi.
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Messi never does that — Argentina legend explains why Ronaldo is better than his countryman
Argentina football legend picked Ronaldo over Messi in the GOAT debate.
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Messi vs Martinez
While football is a team sport, individuals make up the whole. For Argentina, they had possibly the most influential individual in sports history, Messi.
The 37-year-old' scored six goals in the competition—only Kylian Mbappe had more. He also provided three assists and was named Player of the Tournament.
Martinez, on the other hand, was heroic between the sticks, saving three penalties in two shootouts in the quarter-final and final. Also, his outstretched leg save to deny Kolo Muani a sensational winner in the final would go down as one of the greatest saves in modern football history.
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What Gatti said
While both players were influential in their own rights towards bringing the title home, Gatti believes Martinez was the real MVP.
“I don't criticise Messi; I say he's good. I say it and I will say it again,” Gatti said. “From what there has been in recent times, he was very good and his competition with Cristiano [Ronaldo] was great. But he wasn't the best."
“It's the same as saying that Messi was the most important footballer in the World Cup. Argentina won the World Cup because of Dibu Martinez; otherwise, they wouldn't have won it. That's the reality.
“People want to hear what they think, but I transmit what I saw and what I feel. That's the difference; that's why I'm discussed, and why they call me crazy!”
Being a goalkeeper, one of the greatest in Argentinian football history, Gatti's controversial comments could be construed as him defending the position. However, he said that to expand on another point. The 80-year-old is seemingly not the biggest fan of Messi and has said his compatriot is inferior to Cristiano Ronaldo.
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