U.S. men's national team legend Alexi Lalas spoke about whether Lionel Messi could have succeeded in the Premier League.
Messi, 38, arrived in MLS in 2023 to break all kinds of records. At that time, Inter Miami was arguably the worst team in the league, but it took on another dimension since the Argentine's arrival.
Although throughout his career prior to arriving in Major League Soccer, Messi played for only two teams and spent practically 20 years at Barcelona, he demonstrated that he is capable of adapting to different contexts.
There has always been the question of whether Inter Miami's No. 10 could have succeeded in the Premier League, considered the best league in the world. Alexi Lalas answered this question.
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Alexi Lalas Addresses Whether Lionel Messi Could Succeed in the Premier League
In a recent episode of the "State of the Union" Podcast, Lalas spoke in depth on the topic and had no doubts. For him, Messi has everything to succeed in England.
"He would have no problem. He wouldn't miss a beat. He is not just a great soccer player, but he is arguably the greatest player ever to play the game," Lalas said.
"And even though he played the vast majority of his career in one place in Barcelona, he showed that he was able to go elsewhere [Paris Saint-Germain]. And there was, you know, some curiosity. And he showed that he was able to go into a completely different culture, completely different language, completely obviously different soccer, and still be awesome," he added.
But for Lalas, the most impressive thing was not what he demonstrated in France with PSG, but how he adapted to the challenge of playing in the United States, in MLS.
"And I think it's even more impressive what he did when he came to Major League Soccer, because not only each and every game coming up against teams that are at your level, but you've got to travel," Lalas said. "And you've got to play on different surfaces. You have to play in all the different challenges that Messi has already lived up to. For all his talent and his touch and his skill and his vision and his magic, he will cut you if he has to."