Lionel Messi Brushes off Diego Maradona, Pele Pressure Ahead of World Cup

Lionel Messi is already a certified football icon, sitting alongside the sport's greatest talents at the age of 26. The four-time Ballon d'Or winner, whose list of accolades covers every major club trophy with Barcelona, doesn't feel he has anything to prove at this summer's World Cup.

Detractors suggest that, because Messi hasn't led Argentina to glory, he cannot be compared with Diego Maradona and Pele.

Although Messi struggled to make an impression during both the 2006 and the 2010 tournaments, scoring a combined total of one goal in eight matches, per FIFA, he isn't bothered by the age-old comparison with former greats, per Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC:

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I do not want to be world champion with Argentina so that people can say that I will be a great like Pele or Maradona. I want to do it to achieve this objective with the national team, and to add this title to my list of trophies.

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These comments come shortly after Ossie Ardiles, who won the 1978 tournament with Argentina, suggested Messi cannot be compared to the aforementioned legends until he lifts the famous trophy, per Reuters (via the Toronto Sun):

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Right now Messi might be regarded as the greatest player in the whole history of the game but he would give all the medals he has won with Barcelona just to win one World Cup, that is how important it is for him.

To be considered alongside the top, top guys like Pele and Diego Maradona and so on, he not only needs to be in the World Cup but to win it.

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Messi stands one win away from adding a seventh La Liga title to his repertoire. Despite Barcelona's poor season, victory over current leaders Atletico Madrid will see the Blaugrana emerge victorious via the Spanish division's head-to-head ruling.

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He stands alongside the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta as players who have defined Barca's recent era of success. Even so, Messi indicated he feels pangs of jealousy toward his club teammates who lifted the 2010 World Cup with Spain, as per Corrigan's report:

"I feel some healthy envy towards my teammates at Barca who have won it. No matter how much I ask, they cannot explain what it feels like."

Messi is yet to win anything with Argentina's senior team but has experienced success at lower levels. He helped the Under-20 side to a World Cup triumph in 2005, scoring two penalties in the final to overcome Nigeria's young Eagles. He played alongside Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Garay and Pablo Zabaleta in the tournament, all of whom will be present for the 2014 World Cup.

In 2008, the same quartet joined the likes of Angel Di Maria, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Juan Roman Riquelme to win gold at the Beijing Olympics. The closest Messi has come to capturing a trophy with the senior national side was the 2007 Copa America, but Argentina were hammered 3-0 by rivals Brazil in the final.

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None of this appears to be weighing the superstar down. He believes Alejandro Sabella's team are confident and ready to make an impression when the summer action begins.

"We are coming into the tournament in good form," Messi said, per Corrigan. "We have a nice opportunity to do something big. We are relaxed and excited about being able to achieve our objective."

Like Maradona and Pele's age-old duel, Messi's career is defined by his comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo. While many seem infatuated with which modern star is greater—a question that will outlive us all—both highlight how World Cup success isn't needed to be considered a mythical figure of the game.

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Maradona won the World Cup with a team that far outshone Argentina's current crop, a side that allowed numerous individual talents to star without constantly heaping pressure on one player. Sabella will be hoping to have created the same conditions for Messi, Aguero and Co. to produce a successful World Cup showing.

Whether Messi secures a famous World Cup win for Argentina or not, it is stretching the truth to suggest he cannot be compared with those who have left the tournament with a winners medal.

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