That Lionel Messi though, what a guy.
Passing up on the opportunity to score his 300th La Liga goal this season in favour of teeing up a hat-trick for his team-mate Luis Suarez is yet another sign of his all around soundness.
Even if it was meant for Neymar.
What a guy, what a gent, what a paragon of sporting brilliance.
While the Spanish sports pages make reference to the potentially divisive nature of the goal that gave Barca a 4-1 lead in their eventual 6-1 win, most of the reaction to the imaginative routine has been positive.
Buenos dÃas, today's front page focus is on a #suarezmessi ode to @JohanCruyff pic.twitter.com/FZgaAOD1Tp
— AS USA (@English_AS) February 15, 2016
Asà vienen hoy #LasPortadas de la prensa deportiva. ¡Buenos dÃas! 📰 https://t.co/GPWjHIt15i #FelizLunes pic.twitter.com/QReWPELeI5
— MARCA (@marca) February 15, 2016
But in a jury of his own peers, Messi was lauded for his imagination and selflessness.
Messi👌🔥
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) February 14, 2016
https://twitter.com/morrisonclinton/status/698977850926505984
https://twitter.com/vancole9/status/698978697387384833
One day earlier Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 4-2 to keep the pressure on Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
What if the Portuguese superstar had been awarded a last-minute penalty and, in a fit of generosity, decided to pull a similar penalty routine to Messi?
Okay, it would run anathema to a man who struggles to celebrate when team-mates score instead of him, but he is getting older and fatherhood may be taming some of his more narcissistic tendencies.
Would Ronaldo attempting such a penalty be celebrated in the same way as Messi’s has been? Not bloody likely, more likely it would be seen as further proof of the former Manchester United man’s arrogance and contempt for his opponents.
There persists a common belief that Messi is some sort of lovable scamp who is still playing as if he was a child on the playground, while Ronaldo is a Machiavellian figure who cares for no one but himself.
This ignores the fact that Messi is a very powerful figure at Barcelona and, some believe, also has a huge say in who manages the Argentinian national team.
Ronaldo doesn’t always help himself with his on-field behaviour and feature-length ego trips, but there is not a former team-mate who could fault his professionalism or desire to win.
That is probably why he would never attempt to pass a penalty to a team-mate but, if he did, you would like to think he would be praised for it too.
Not bloody likely though.
