Mail Online

IT IS still one of the greatest privileges in sport to watch Lionel Messi play live.

Even on Wednesday night at the Etihad, there were still moments of pure magic: a nutmeg of Raheem Sterling; the way he took the ball under pressure from a quick free-kick early in the second half and set up a chance from which Paris Saint-Germain should have scored.

But the moments of genius are rarer now and other emotions have crept in when watching Messi play. The lack of interest in working for his team in Manchester did not just feel startling and anachronistic, it felt like it was an insult to his team-mates. Messi is one of the best we have ever seen but if he continues to phone it in like this, he risks tarnishing his legacy.

Football

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2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://mailonline.pressreader.com/article/285056987445284

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