Is there any truth to the idea that Lionel Messi can't succeed outside Barcelona?

There is a popular common belief that the Argentine sensation Lionel Messi would struggle to play for any other team that is not Barcelona. But is this the truth or just an oversimplified assumption?

The 31-year-old FC Barcelona forward has played his entire professional career at the Catalan club. He arrived there before penning down his first professional contract in 2004, prior to his first team breakthrough from the reserve youth team Juvenile B.

Messi went on to break all sorts of records at the club, including records for most goals, most assists and most trophies won by a Barcelona player in history. This much success, however, has also attracted criticism from rival fans and many other football fans around the world.

Cowardice or loyalty?

Messi is the only player you can think of who has been accused of being a coward for playing in one club for almost the entirety of his career. The likes of Ryan Giggs and Francesco Totti were given godly status for playing at one team throughout their amazing careers. But for Messi, it's a different case.

The argument is that great players always seek new challenges in different environments. The fact that his closest and biggest rival Cristiano Ronaldo switched clubs before the beginning of this season doesn't help Messi in this discussion at all as football fanatics and pundits have accused him of being too "scared" of a new challenge and of staying in his comfort zone.

At the same time, Messi's decision to stay back could also be considered fair as he may feel that loyalty to the club is the only way to repay Barcelona who took care of his welfare and medical bills when he first arrived with a growth hormone deficiency problem.

It is rare to find loyalty in this money-driven football era. And although Messi is one of the world's highest earning players at Barcelona, there are still other clubs who'd be willing to pay more to have him - even if he was half-fit.

The Ronaldo comparisons

A lot of people are not convinced that Messi could succeed playing anywhere other than in the famous Cules shirt despite the fact that he is Argentina's all-time top scorer and that he almost single-handedly helped his nation qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. This may be due to the fact that his only direct competitor is not shy of challenging himself and has played in four different leagues now.

'La Pulga', as Messi is affectionately known, has been playing in one team for a long time, which is somehow believed to be a factor in making him look better than he actually is. The quality of the players around him and the team system that is built around him are considered to be unduly helping Messi.

Not taking anything away from Ronaldo - he is a great player - but what most people fail to realize is that since his Sporting Lisbon days, the Portuguese has only joined clubs that are already dominant in their respective leagues. Right from the great Manchester United to the most successful team in Europe, Real Madrid, and now the team that won seven league titles in a row, Juventus, all of Ronaldo's teams had world class players from the period he joined them.

It is quite absurd to think Messi would struggle in any of these teams. And as for the playing system, there are teams that play possession-based football like Manchester City which Messi would easily fit into - like a hand to a glove.

Frankly speaking, Messi could play anywhere and still tear it up (perhaps not scoring as much as he is at Barca). He is that good; you don't win five Ballon d'Or prizes if you are only capable of playing in one team and with a particular style.