Argentina striker and four-time World Footballer (2009-2012) Lionel Messi's stellar ten-year career with Spanish super club Barcelona may soon come to an end. For two good reasons. The first is a better offer from another wealthy European club. The second is a severe leg injury, due to which Messi was out of action long before the end of 2013.
They call him "Messiah"
Argentina's national team captain Lionel Messi (whose left foot is probably being closely watched by the entire or almost football world now) is the most titled and famous football player on the planet. Indeed, his track record includes not only four consecutive prizes for the best player in the world at the end of the calendar year, called the Golden Ball, but also many other honorary titles and awards.
Lionel, who has long received the honorary nickname "Football Messiah" for his performance and achievements on the field, is, in particular, the gold medalist of the 2008 Olympic Games, a three-time Champions League triumphant, and the winner of the Club World Cup. And how many goalkeepers did he manage to score and then dream in a nightmare, and is a terrible statistic for them.
How many injuries does Messi have?
The exact number of injuries that any professional footballer can receive and receive during his career, as a rule, cannot be kept in mind. Indeed, in addition to open injuries, there are also so-called hidden until a certain moment invisible. According to sports doctors, there may be several dozen of them, and only one of them can put an end to a career and the ability to earn money by playing on the field.
It was just another of the injuries, due to which Messi, according to Spanish journalists, missed almost a calendar year, questioned the possibility of Lionel continuing to play for the Catalan club. By the way, ironically, she became his 13th in a row.
"Devil's dozen" - such a number of severe injuries received in the games for Barcelona and the Argentine national team, forced the best football player in the world not only to end 2013 ahead of schedule, but also to think about changing the club and country of residence.
In particular, in 2006, Messi was forced out of action three times: after games with Atletico Madrid, Chelsea London (hamstring injury to the right leg) and another Spanish team - Zaragoza (fracture of the fifth metatarsal bone of the left leg).
In 2007, Messi was injured in games against Australia (right knee injury) and Spain's Valencia (hamstring laceration). In 2008, she was injured in a game with the Scottish Celtic (a tear in the left thigh muscle).
Bonecrushers from Atlético
In 2010, the best footballer in the world is injured again in the game against Atlético (ankle). In 2012, the critical match against the Portuguese Benfica (right knee injury). But the most unfortunate year for Lionel is 2013 with a whole series of injuries of varying severity. Here is a brief chronicle of this year, in which Lionel, by the way, played 11 matches, scoring eight goals and making four assists:
April 2. Barcelona - Paris Saint-Germain (France). Bruised right leg.
12 May. Barcelona - Atlético. Right hamstring injury.
August 21. Barcelona - Atlético.
September 28. Barcelona - Almeria (Spain). Both times - recurrence of injury to the hamstring of the right leg.
Finally, on November 10, in the Spanish championship game Barcelona - Real Betis (Sevilla), injury to the biceps muscle of the left leg followed, after which it became clear that the Messiah would play the next game only in 2014. And, perhaps, no longer in Barça, which recently acquired the Brazilian Neymar, who will earn much more than the eternally traumatized Messi gets there.
Divorce in Spanish
How many goals the new South American striker of the Catalans will score, no one, of course, knows. But the bosses of the club are confident that young and full of strength and health, Neymar will be a full-fledged replacement for the "crystal" Messi.
While Lionel Messi was treating another injury, the Barcelona management bought him to replace the rising Brazilian star Neymar, who has pledged to pay 17 million euros a year.
As one of the authoritative Spanish journalists, François Gallardo, testifies, Messi already has a preliminary agreement to move to another great European club, in which Lionel may not be injured as often as in Barcelona.
