The former Liverpool defender spent his whole career at Anfield and doesn’t feel that being a one-club man should impact any greatness debate.
Lionel Messi doesn’t require a move away from Barcelona to be able to improve his legacy, says Jamie Carragher, with it”dumb” to indicate that the six-time Ballon d’Or winner must follow the lead of eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese celebrity has taken on a lot of distinct challenges over the course of his career.
Ronaldo started out in his homeland with Sporting, before going on to participate in charms with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
By comparison, Messi has stayed faithful to Barca after stepping from the famed La Masia academy system and has been tipped to hang his boots up as a one-club guy.
Questions have often been asked of whether the Argentine could enjoy the same degree of success outside of Spain as he’s with the Liga heavyweights, with switches to Italy and England having been mooted at different intervals.
Former Liverpool defender Carragher, who spent all his playing days at Anfield, doesn’t share the opinion that Messi wants to prove himself out of Barca so as to top the record of all-time greats.
“It is just stupid. It is completely daft,” Carragher told CaughtOffside of the debate.
“He is in the top club, he is the best player there, he is the best player in Europe.
“The best appear against the best on the greatest events and that is what he does so that I do not actually listen (to other’s opinions). Fair play to Ronaldo and nicely done, but it is not something to criticise Messi for.”
Carragher believes Ronaldo has exchanged clubs in a bid to establish a point to people who continue to compare him with Messi.
The ex-England international added: “I believe that is why Ronaldo’s moved. I believe he knows he’s always been viewed as only behind Messi, therefore I think Ronaldo’s quite smart.
“I can say I have won the league in most of these states, been the top scorer in all these countries and these are more strings to my bow… I think he probably does the opposite of what Messi does to attempt to paint himself as being slightly different.
“Listen, I really don’t think of Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini being any less of a guardian since they never left AC Milan. So that is not going to change me with Lionel Messi not departing Barcelona. I mean, why would you leave Barcelona?”
