Lionel Messi has garnered immense acclaim and admiration throughout his illustrious soccer career. At the same time, the Argentinian superstar has received criticism as well. Speaking of the same, the Inter Miami star was recently slammed by the former European champion. More surprisingly, the faultfinder of La Pulga was instantly lambasted for his words.

Messi didn’t fire off a response to his critics as he usually lets his game do the talking. However, in this case, a renowned name in the soccer world came into the Argentine’s defense.

Former European Champion faces backlash for criticizing Lionel Messi

Earlier, Dutch legend Marco Van Basten made some huge claims about Messi. This didn’t settle well with former AC Milan star Antonio Cassano, who strongly disagreed with Van Basten’s remarks and expressed his displeasure during the latest episode of Bobo TV.

As stated by Pallone Gonfiato and translated by DeepL, he said that Van Basten might be a phenomenal player, but the Brazilian was the “strongest center forward in the history of soccer.” While underlining how Van Bastan failed as a coach, he said, “Now he even says bulls*it about Messi. When he didn’t put him among the three greatest in history because he doesn’t have personality, do I answer him because he wins games?”

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Cassano emphasized Messi’s impact, pointing out that during Messi’s time at Barcelona, the club won just 1 UEFA Champions League and 15 league titles. However, after Messi’s tenure and departure, the club achieved 5 UEFA Champions League titles and 27 league championships. Messi himself also scored over 800 goals and provided 300 assists. Praising La Pulga’s 7 Ballon d’Or victories, Cassano described Messi as a historic figure and “unique and incomparable.”

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Cassano concluded that Van Bastan said those things, while he was “playing golf and thinking bullsh*t.” The ex-Milan star added, “He woke up in the morning and said hallucinating things. Maradona and Cruijff also played at Barcelona and didn’t win like he did. Messi doesn’t need to make movies or go sucking up to journalists.” Indeed, these are huge claims from the ex-forward. Meanwhile, let’s dive deeper into why Van Basten was forced to retire at just 28.

Forced to hang up boots at 28

The final season of Van Basten’s career at AC Milan had a significantly different start compared to its conclusion. He began the 1992-93 campaign with an impressive 12 goals in his first 13 games. However, in December, Van Basten suffered an injury that kept him sidelined until late April. Upon his return, he managed to play in only three games before requiring another ankle surgery. Despite several attempts to make a comeback over the following two years, Van Basten’s career ultimately came to an end.

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Had he been able to continue playing into the late 1990s, he might be remembered as one of the all-time greats. Furthermore, this could have potentially led the Dutch team to victory in the 1994 World Cup. But the latter managed to hang up boots by winning three Ballon d’Or’s and 19 domestic silverware. One can’t help but wonder what might have happened had he continued playing into his 30s.