After Louis van Gaal recently suggested Lionel Messi is a better individual player than he is a team player, his former FC Barcelona player Rivaldo has responded to his comments about the Argentine superstar.
The Dutchman claimed in a recent interview that the 32-year-old should take more responsibility for the Catalan giants' recent UEFA Champions League failures, saying too many coaches play to his strengths rather than to the strengths of the team.
Rivaldo, however, is in complete disagreement with his ex-Blaugrana boss, and wonders if Van Gaal might not like Messi and other star players because their brilliance overshadows the work managers do on the sidelines.
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"Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo are difference-making players and neither the team nor the coach knows how they do those otherworldly things," he wrote, according to Sports On.
"But there are many coaches who do not like these players because they detract from the coach himself, so they prefer to talk about these players as if they do not know how to play as a team and they are good only individually.
"I played football for more than 24 years and I know very well that many coaches were very average when they played, and others were not players.
"Today, as coaches, they want their team to play as a team for them to have the merit of a great coach.
"If you have a player like Pele, Johan Cruyff, Rivelino, Garrincha, Messi, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo Fenomeno, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Zidane, Romario, Kaka, Maradona, Zico, Mbappe, Figo, Stoichkov, Hagi, etc, it is easier.
"But it does not mean you are going to be champions. If you also have a team that does not play well tactically, it can mean that you are not going to be a champion.
"I prefer difference-making players because football is joy and everyone likes something different. The team is always important, but you need to have different players who can do something more on the pitch."
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Do you agree with Rivaldo's remarks? Let us know in the comments section below.
