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Have you ever wondered what Lionel Messi believes is the greatest goal of his entire career? We're about to find out.
The greatest player of all time is set to select his favorite moment of his glittering football story, set to reveal his selection at 11 a.m. ET on a live stream.
Once he makes his pick, contemporary artist Refik Anadol will transform his pick into a work of art.
So, with that in mind, The Sporting News set out to pick our favorite Lionel Messi goal of all time, and see how it stacks up against Messi's selection.
MORE: All the latest soccer action | Lionel Messi news
What is Lionel Messi's best goal?
Writers from across The Sporting News football team make their case for Lionel Messi's best goal ever.
Not ranking, not a list, just one single goal that stands out above all the rest. So which one is it? It's an impossible list to pick from, with countless stunners of all different varieties.
So which goals are the best of the best? Here's the ones our team has selected.
Goal vs. Bayern Munich in 2015 Champions League semifinal
Lionel Messi's memorable goal against Bayern Munich leaves no doubt that not just being synonymous with football, Messi is also synonymous with art. Messi sending Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng soaring through the air has become of the most iconic moments in Champions League history, and was instantly transformed into an all-time football meme.
This goal demonstrates the genius of Messi, able to get out of a situation combined with the improvisation that only he is capable of. It also proves that Messi sports not just the famed best left foot of all time, but also one of the greatest right feet as well.
All this under the Champions League lights, against an all-time great team, finished against perhaps the greatest goalkeeper in history. — Joao Castanheria
2nd Goal vs. Real Madrid in 2011 Champions League semifinal
April 2011 gave us a Clasico World Series: four games in 17 days, played in three competitions. The rivalry between Pep Guardiola's Barcelona and Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid reached levels of animosity rarely seen before or since. Barcelona edged the league title race; Madrid won the Copa del Rey final. But the Champions League semifinal was the big one.
Messi scored twice in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu to effectively kill the tie by the halfway point. And it was near halfway that his greatest ever goal, his second of the game, started. After passing to Sergio Busquets, he ran to collect the midfielder's casual nudge of the ball — what an assist this was! — as if to say, "Leave this to me."
He left Lassana Diarra in his wake, drove past Sergio Ramos, Raul Albiol and Marcelo, and slid a finish past Iker Casillas with his weaker foot while falling over. Given the opposition, the occasion, and the brutal treatment he had received throughout the contest, this was a moment of pure brilliance. — Joe Wright
Goal vs. Getafe in 2007 Copa del Rey semifinal
#OnThisDay | April 18, 2007
In the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals, the 19-year-old future goat Leo #Messi takes the ball in Barça's half and blows past Getafe to score one of the most astounding goals ever witnessed. 😳🤯 pic.twitter.com/GmG9mjF1pk
At just 19 years old, Lionel Messi scored a goal that he wouldn't be able to top. It's a goal which perfectly encapsulates the aura Messi would build throughout his brilliant career.
For all the world-class skills Messi boasted, his iconic dribbling was the first to emerge, betraying the greatness he would ultimately embody. The Barcelona superstar picked up the ball inside his own half and emerged to dribble past four defenders (including one twice) and the goalkeeper before finishing with a slide from a tight angle, looping the ball over one more desperate defender.
It's a brilliant run, one which displays the genius of Messi to see an opponent's movement before they even know themselves. — Kyle Bonn
Goal vs. Athletic Club in 2015 Copa del Rey final
I could have chosen Messi’s iconic goals against Getafe in 2007, Real Madrid in the 2011 Champions League, or Mexico in the 2022 World Cup for their incredible difficulty and context, but I believe his goal against Athletic Club in the 2015 Copa del Rey final stands out as the perfect mix of it being a golazo and being important.
It’s a breathtaking goal: Messi picks up the ball near midfield, weaves past four defenders with dazzling skill, and fires a perfect shot. Beyond its technical brilliance, this goal was pivotal—the opener in a final against a tough team like Athletic Club, in a key moment for Barcelona’s historic treble-winning season with Leo playing alongside Neymar and Suárez in the legendary MSN attack. — Augustin Aboy
2nd goal vs. France in 2022 FIFA World Cup final
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 29, 2023Can a goal scored with an unorthodox shot, with a player's non-dominant foot, after an initial save by the GK, and with a defender almost blocking it, involving even a revision by VAR, be Messi's best goal? After all the stunners he has logged by dribbling five, six, even seven opponents, or those he has scored with legendary rips? Yes, it can. The reason? Simple: Best. World. Cup. Final. Ever.
His second goal against France in the extra time of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup Final (a go-ahead goal at the 108th minute) cannot be less than his greatest and best goal. Because of its significance, even though Mbappe had other plans and got its team to the penalty shootout, that's the one I (and probably millions of Argentines too, I dare Messi himself among them) choose. — Mauricio Codocea
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