Super Eagles: 5 Nigerian stars who picked Lionel Messi as the GOAT

Retold by Oddsrama · 31 August 2026

Lionel Messi's retirement from international football has reignited one of sport's most heated arguments: who is truly the greatest player ever? While Cristiano Ronaldo usually stakes his claim in that conversation, five prominent Nigerian footballers have made their position clear—and they're backing the Argentine magician. Jay-Jay Okocha, Joseph Yobo, John Obi Mikel, Alex Iwobi, and Segun Odegbami all crown Messi as the GOAT, and their reasoning goes far beyond trophy cabinets or goal tallies.

Okocha's take is refreshingly blunt. The Bolton Wanderers legend, who built his own career on close control and artistic dribbling, sees Messi operating on a completely different level. While he respects Ronaldo's goal-scoring prowess, Okocha views the Portuguese star as primarily a finisher—talented, yes, but not the complete footballer Messi represents. For Okocha, Messi isn't just a player; he's an artist, a genius born to control a football in ways few mortals ever will. That perspective carries weight from someone who played three World Cups and won Olympic gold with Nigeria in 1996.

Yobo and Iwobi both base their verdicts on direct experience facing Messi at the highest level. Yobo, who defended against him across three World Cups, described Messi as almost invisible—capable of vanishing from the pitch while simultaneously controlling everything around him. Iwobi's first Champions League start came at Camp Nou against a Barcelona side loaded with superstars, yet what stuck with him was Messi's protective bubble around the ball, an impenetrable radius no defender could breach. Even Mikel, who faced both Ronaldo and Messi during his Chelsea tenure, insists the comparison doesn't hold—Messi simply operates from a different dimension. For betting purposes, this debate matters: Messi's status shapes how we value players he influenced and the teams that faced him during his peak years.

Based on original reporting by Soccernet NG. Read the original at soccernet.ng →

#Super Eagles#Lionel Messi#Argentina#Nigeria

Super Eagles: 5 Nigerian stars who picked Lionel Messi as the GOAT

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