Lionel Messi

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Lionel Messi

Name	Lionel Andrés Messi
Age	22
Nation	Argentina
Position	SS, AMF
Club Squad No.	10
Nation Squad No.	10
Key stats	Agility - 99 Dribble Accuracy - 97 Technique - 90
Previous Clubs	None

Lionel Messi is an Argentine forward who is currently playing for Barcelona. He is also a key member of the Argentinian national team. He is widely regarded as one of the most technically astute players in the game who combines superb dribbling ability with tremendous pace and agility to ghost through opposing defences. Messi is also one of the few players in the PES series who can perform the 'Rabona' skill due to his low weaker foot frequency which gives him an advantage over some other play-makers in the game.

PES 2008

Messi could perform the Rabona skill for the first time in PES 2008. His stats were slightly lower than in PES 2009 with his dribble accuracy being 93 instead of 97, for example.

PES 2009

Playing just behind the main striker is Messi's registered position, but he is equally capable when pushed out wide to the wings, either hugging the touchline or cutting back inside. As in real life, he is best suited to cutting inside from the right where he can create space for an overlap out wide or simply dribble past the defence for an attempt on goal. He forms a fearsome partnership with Andres Iniesta and Xavi much like in real life which allows Barcelona to dominate possession and ultimately get the results required. One weakness is his lack of stamina which often means he needs to be substituted before the end of the match.

Messi appears on the front of the PES 2009 cover along with the Champions League logo.

He is believed to be one of the main reasons along with Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o in why so many people choose Barcelona on Network matches.

PES 2010

Once again Messi is featured on the cover however this time with Fernando Torres.

His preset face has been updated and so has his hairstyle. With the almost perfect striker force of Messi, Ibrahimovic and Henry, Barcelona look set to be a popular choice online with such a highly rated attack force. However with PES 2010 changing the style of the game. It will now be near impossible to ghost past players like in previous games.

He features attacking cards such as Mazing Run and Incisive Run which can help him dribble past players and cut inside respectively.

His has an overall of 84 making him a good player. However considered the best player in PES and in real life, you would expect him to have more overall but it looks like he will be able to make it up through potential in Master League. His stats are very concentrated towards attack with very high dribbling, speed and agility stats making him able to weave in and out of oncoming challenges. He also has high technique making him able to control even the hardest of deliveries. However his downside is that he is very small and lacks stamina still making him poor in the air and unable to last the full 90 minutes if playing flat out.

Gallery

Real Life	PES 2008	Playstation 2 Messi	PES 2009 Box Art
Rabona	PES 2009	PES 2009 Curve	PES 2010 Box Art
PES 2010	PES 2010 demo	Messi Promotional Celebration	PES 2010 cover stars Messi and Torres