Lionel Messi – So close yet so far (55 goals in 58 appearances for club and country)
Lionel Messi might be regarded as the greatest player of all time but he will never be Argentina’s Maradona. At least, not yet.
The fleet-footed Argentine had inspired and guided his team to two consecutive finals in as many years. First, it was the extra-time loss at the hands of Germany in the 2014 World Cup final, followed by the penalty-shootout loss to Chile last year at Copa America 2015.
However, it looked like Messi will finally break his duck with the Argentine national team at Copa America Centenario – having successfully carried them to the final of the tournament with the help of his 5 goals.
But as luck would have it, it was a case of so close yet so far for Messi and Argentina – as they lost to Chile in the final of the tournament, once again in the penalty shootout.
Messi with Barcelona had a much better year despite getting knocked out by Atletico Madrid in the quarter-final of the Champions League. They won La Liga on the final game day while they also beat Sevilla in the final of the Copa del Rey. In fact, Messi and Barcelona won four trophies in the entire last season – having already won the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 2015.
