10 Feb Would Lionel Messi struggle in the Premier League?

Lionel Messi’s links to reigning Premier League champions Manchester City has prompted discussion whether he could deliver in England.

The Argentine superstar turns 33 in June and has spent his entire club career at Barcelona, having joined the club’s youth academy, La Masia, at age 13.

Arsenal great and former Barcelona midfielder, Emmanuel Petit, thinks Messi would struggle with the intensity and the physical nature of the Premier League, something his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo thrived upon.

Ronaldo spent six years at Manchester United, winning three Premier League titles, the Champions League and the Ballon d'Or during the double-winning 2007/08 campaign.

“Honestly, I don’t think he (Messi) is suited to the intensity of England. He doesn’t like being closed down and being fought. In Spain, he’s protected,” Petit told the Mirror.

“If City wanted to buy him, they should have tried to do it a couple of years ago. Messi is not Cristiano Ronaldo. Physically, he’s not the same machine.

“Ronaldo is a monster but, at 32, Messi has only one or two more years playing at the highest level.

“Even playing alongside great players at Barca, he won’t have the same pace or the dribbling ability.”

Messi, who has 19 goals and 15 assists in all competitions for Barcelona this season, has been linked with a move to the Premier League following a public spat with sporting director Eric Abidal.

Abidal questioned the commitment of certain players that led to the sacking of former boss Ernesto Valverde.

Messi is contracted to the Catalans until the end of 2021.

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