Above all else, football is one big pantomime. And with great pantomime comes even better characters, who are propelling football culture forward one new gimmick at a time. Injuries, new clubs and different competitions allow us to be welcomed to different versions of our favourite players, and for whatever reason, that change of pace can often encourage a complete 180 in terms of how they play. In celebration of footballers going full Chris Jericho and leaning into gimmicks here, there and everywhere, we’ve pulled together a list of the most dangerous versions of players. NHS Martial After fa ..read more

There will never be another Lionel Messi. Never. But that doesn’t stop skilful dribblers, particularly short, left-footed ones, being dubbed ‘the next Lionel Messi’. When Messi made his Barcelona debut in 2004, he was quickly hailed as the ‘new Maradona’, a label that was previously given to players like Ariel Ortega, Pablo Aimar and Javier Saviola. Only a few seasons later, the benchmark was changed: a new generation of skilful young attackers would be dubbed not the ‘new Maradona’ but the ‘new Messi’, a tag that has proven bloody hard to live up to… 2006: Bojan Krkic Just two years into Mess ..read more

Superstars from Manchester United, Bayern Munich and PSG have featured in the most prolific international goalscorers of 2023.  The November international break has concluded, and with it we’ve wrapped up international football for the calendar year. While we had no World Cup, European Championship, Africa Cup Of Nations or Copa America, some of football’s most famous names stepped up to the plate for their respective national teams in qualifying campaigns. We’ve taken a closer look at the 10 players who have scored the most international goals in 2023. =8. Rasmus Hojlund – 7 The 20-year ..read more

You’d be forgiven for thinking WWE Survivor Series had come early if you caught Brazil vs Argentina, with the world champions’ 1-0 win descending into chaos in one of the biggest games in international football. A bullet header from Nicolas Otamendi just past the hour mark was the difference as the two titans of South American football clashed in World Cup qualifying, but the goal was hardly the highlight in a seriously wild encounter. Around that headed-in winner, though, it seems like both sides simply forgot about the football and focused on each other instead. Tensions boiled over several ..read more

The debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has dominated the football world for the last decade – but which side of the fence do this generation’s wonderkids sit on? There can be little doubt that both players rank among the best of all time and we are lucky enough to have witnessed them both at their peak in our lifetimes. We’ve had a closer look at the current wonderkids coming through in the world of football to see whether they idolised Messi or Ronaldo growing up. Endrick The Brazilian wonderkid is one of the hottest prospects in the world right now. While the 17-year ..read more

I swear you’ll never see anything like this ever again, so watch it, drink it in. To quote Martin Tyler, sometimes you need to take a breath and appreciate that you’re witnessing something special. That iconic line of commentary was in response to one of the most unforgettable moments in football history – Sergio Aguero’s injury-time, title-clinching winner against QPR – but you could just as easily apply it to watching peak Barcelona. Only years later might it dawn on you what a privilege it was to watch all-time greats like Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta on the same team for over a decade ..read more

Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. You have to choose, apparently. Much of modern football discourse has encouraged us to pick one of this generation’s defining talents over the other, rather than appreciate them both.  However, they do represent contrasting ideologies. Messi is the born talent, capable of magical acts beyond the conceptions of the vast majority of human civilisation. Ronaldo, his body meticulously sculpted in the gym, represents a monument to hard work and dedication to his craft. Both players have continued to produce crazy numbers in the latter stages of their car ..read more

Despite his consistent showings of superhuman abilities through the years, Lionel Messi remains a mere mortal and, like the rest of us, isn’t perfect after all. For a man that is heralded as a God-like figure in the footballing world, you’d think he can do no wrong. But he can. There’s a secret dark side to Messi. He’s the John Cena of football; insanely talented, incredibly famous, won everything there is to win, and just too good. Which makes it all the more intriguing to see what it would be like if the shoe was on the other foot, and he became the villain. First Barcelona red card This one ..read more

As a youngster, Lionel Messi was so shy that he would get changed in the corridors of La Masia to avoid spending time with his Barcelona team-mates. Reminiscing on his early years with Messi, Cesc Fabregas joked that he thought he was mute. Hear from anyone who knew him as a teenager and they’ll paint you a picture of a homesick introvert. The Argentinian’s talent has always been without question. Messi was talked up as a future all-time great before he was old enough to buy cigarettes. Yet it was always doubted whether he had the stones to be a leader for a footballing nation as famously vola ..read more

On November 16, 2003, a little-known Argentine by the name of Lionel Messi made his Barcelona debut with a 15-minute cameo in a mid-season friendly with Porto. Barcelona took on Porto in the inauguration of the Estadio do Dragao, which had been built ahead of the following summer’s European Championship. Porto ran out 2-0 victors, with Messi squandering a couple of half-chances to score. What became of him? We’ll never know. But we’ve taken a look back at the Barcelona XI that started ahead of him. Albert Jorquera Perennial reserve goalkeeper Jorquera spent 15 years at Barcelona as he rose thr ..read more