- Yaya Toure raised eyebrows by stating that Lionel Mess was not his pick for the best player he had played alongside during his career
- Given Toure’s time at Barcelona, where he shared the pitch with Messi, fans naturally assumed that the Argentine would top Toure’s list
- However, despite Messi’s prolific goal-scoring and game-changing performances, Toure’s choice for his greatest teammate came as an unexpected twist
Former Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure surprised fans by not naming Lionel Messi as the best player he played alongside in his career.
Toure’s big break came at Barcelona in 2007, and he truly hit his stride in 2008 under then-manager Pep Guardiola.
In his three years with Barcelona, Toure was part of the iconic 2009 team that achieved a historic ‘sextuple,’ claiming La Liga, the Champions League, Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup, and the Club World Cup.
This unprecedented success solidified the squad’s place in football history.
The trophy-laden campaign saw many world-class players, yet most fans attributed the historic achievement largely to Messi, who scored 47 goals that calendar year.
However, even Messi’s contributions weren’t enough for Toure to name him as the best player he played alongside.
Despite also sharing the pitch with stars like David Silva and Sergio Aguero at Manchester City, neither of them made Toure’s list when he revealed his ‘greatest’ teammate.
“[Lionel] Messi was top, [Andres] Iniesta was top, Xavi was great, but I will say Iniesta,” he told Arsenal Declan Rice when speaking to GOAL in 2023 via Sportbible.
“He had something different. Playing with him, wow! It was something else.”
“I learned more about technical skills and seeing things,” Toure added.
Messi scores hat trick for Inter Miami
Earlier, Ekwutosblog reported that Inter Miami made Major League Soccer history with a 6–2 victory over New England Revolution on the final day of the regular season, highlighted by a hat trick from Lionel Messi.
Under the guidance of Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, Miami set a new record for the most points in a single MLS season, finishing with 74 points.
They surpassed the previous record of 73 points held by New England from the 2021 season.
Messi ‘jabs’ Ronaldo
In an earlier report by Ekwutosblog , Messi appeared to make a subtle remark about his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo.
After netting a hat-trick and providing two assists in Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers, Messi’s international goal tally rose to 112, placing him second to Ronaldo.
However, during a post-match interview, Messi downplayed the importance of the numbers, stating that he wasn’t focused on the statistics.
