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Lionel Messi Barcelona GranadaGetty
Chris Burton

‘Messi is from another planet!’ - Barcelona superstar makes football look easy, admits Mascherano

Barcelona
LaLiga

A former Blaugrana team-mate of the six-time Ballon d’Or has once again lauded the ability of a fellow Argentine to dominate every game he plays in

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Lionel Messi is “from another planet”, says Javier Mascherano, with the Barcelona and Argentina superstar able to make football look easy with his otherworldly talent.

Plenty have suggested that a six-time Ballon d’Or winner is not human down the years, with his remarkable career seeing the bar of individual excellence raised to levels never seen before.

Messi has been a one-club man, with his stunning exploits for Barca seeing the record books ripped up on a regular basis.

Only Cristiano Ronaldo has been able to get close to the standard set by a man with 627 club goals and countless major honours to his name.

For Mascherano, who has taken in many appearances alongside Messi for club and country, the 32-year-old is the best to ever play the game.

Next matches
BAR

BAR

LaLiga

31 Oct 2026

ALA

ALA

Trying to explain what makes an all-time great different from rival players, former Barca star Mascherano told Cielosports: "Whenever I refer to Leo I say the same thing.

"In football there is decision making and execution. Most players make good decisions, but they don't execute them in the best way or the other way around. And he normally does both. And at the speed with which he plays, it’s different.

"In addition, Leo knows how to control and that allows him, within a game, to have seven, eight or ten important chances, at 100%.

"That is his ability to dominate the game. Normally, the game dominates us all. It takes you, you carry out different actions, because the rival or the game invites you to that. 

"In the case of Leo, it is the other way around: he decides what to do or not to do with the game. So he’s from another planet."

Messi and Mascherano are currently taking in an enforced break from competitive football during the global coronavirus pandemic.

The former is waiting on a resumption of La Liga activity at Barcelona, while the latter is back in his homeland with Estudiantes.

Mascherano is showing no sign of slowing down, but is approaching his 36th birthday and admits he may not have long left before heading into retirement.

He said: "I don't know how easy or difficult it is to come back three or four months without playing, but my mind [is made up] to keep doing it."

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