A fan on Reddit has watched and graded all of Lionel Messi’s 800 goals using a 'fair' and 'transparent' rating system – and it makes for fascinating reading.
The 36-year-old forward, who became the second-ever player to reach 800 goals last season, when he scored in Argentina's 2-0 win over Panama, has scored some of the all-time great goals.
From flooring Jerome Boateng in the Champions League semi-final before chipping over Manuel Neuer, to that solo effort against Getafe – a goal that was voted the greatest in Barcelona's history.
Both of the above were rated as a 5 by Reddit user u/wetwetwet11, who has decided to categorise each and every Messi goal using a subjective, but very respectable, rating system as seen below.
"Yes, this is an imperfect method," the fan wrote. "The goal: see if my perception of Messi’s goalscoring record matched reality. (I also couldn’t think of anything better to do to occupy my mind while I go through a breakup).
"The results, are, as you’d expect, out of this world. If you ever do have a spare hour and forty-five minutes, the video I used as a resource is worth a watch. We really will never see anyone like him ever again."In simple terms, u/wetwetwet11 has ranked every goal from this YouTube video on a scale from 1-5.
Level one is a tap-in or fluke goal. "A 1 is a goal you or I could probably score," the fan says. "It’s the kind of goal that gets you the 'tap-in merchant' title."
In total, only 63 of Messi’s 800 goals were graded as 1's – which sums up the Argentine's brilliance.
Level two is a "pure strikers finish, a goal that you’d expect a quality goal scorer to convert," while level three is the "quintessential, bread and butter Messi goal that makes him so special."Level four, meanwhile, is where Messi goes from GOAT contender to the unquestionable greatest footballer to step foot on a pitch.
"These are goals which would be difficult to score on any pitch, under any circumstances, never mind against the best competition the world has to offer," the fan writes. "If I ever scored a goal like this in my morning pickup league I might retire on the spot."
And finally, level five is the best of the best.
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