Lionel Messi: Rob Stone Calls him "Muhammed Ali of Soccer"
FOX Sports Commentator Rob Stone compared Lionel Messi to Muhammad Ali, highlighting Messi's unparalleled impact on global sports and longevity of greatness.
Video Transcript
You know, I, I, I'm gonna go to Messi, and I- we get Michelle Kaufman on from the Miami Herald all the time.
She's a dear friend of mine.
She said she's had seven minutes of him in interviewing him when he's down at Inter Miami.
He doesn't do interviews.
He's not really a media guy.
And I gotta tell you, Rob, one thing that this World Cup did for me about Lionel Messi, I'm like, that guy's, that guy's a modern-day Ali, sports-wise.
Yeah.
I'm not talking about off and out of the ring.
I'm talking about you could put him anywhere on the planet, and you know who that guy is.
So for one thing I think the American fan has been kind of, you know, embraced with now is you know who this guy is.
He's the greatest athlete in the world, isn't he?
Yeah.
He, he, he is something special.
Y- you know, and I think people have even gotten over the fact, Dan, that if you just, if you're watching Argentina play and you just decide to put your eyeballs on him, which is not the worst decision, by the way, 'cause I've caught myself many a time doing that, just staring at him.
Like, what is he doing in this moment?
And there's a lot of walking around.
You know?
There's a lot of walking around.
But it's not anger or disgust or frustration with his teammates.
It's, it's watching, it's scanning, it's seeing, it's calibrating.
It's seeing, all right, well, how fast is this guy?
Is this guy really paying attention?
Can I do a backdoor run on this guy?
What if I cut this guy?
And he conserves his, his energy, whether that's mental energy or physical energy, for when it's needed.
Because when he needs to make a run, boom, old man is going, right?
39-year-old legs are hustling and hauling.
And when he has that ball at his feet, the place rises.
Not like Argentina fans ever sit down, to be honest with you.
But you feel things get elevated when he has the ball at his feet, 'cause anything can happen, and it's on his foot.
And the defenders know him, and they respect him.
And he is, you know, we're, we're watching a GOAT continue.
Like four years ago, he said, you know, we said, he didn't, we said, "That's it."
Right?
Like, "There's no way you're gonna continue to play.
You've already won the World Cup.
What else is there to do?"
You go back even further, he lost the Copa America in New York, New Jersey Stadium.
This was, I think, 2016.
And he retired from international soccer.
And then, you know, like a week or so later, changed his mind, came back.
You know, so this is a guy who's, who's had the chance to have that, that exit, that graceful exit, and he hasn't taken it.
But his game hasn't diminished, where you're like, "Man, I wish, I really wish he walked away."
Right?
Like, two years ago, get out in your prime, everything's good.
He's still playing at an amazing level.
And he still dictates his playing time, and, and what he can do and what he can't do.
And your eyes, you know, don't deceive you, 'cause they watch him, and you know this, you know your eyes are being blessed at that moment.
I got about a minute left here, and I'm gonna make an- another football analogy with you here.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the American's version of Dan Marino.
Is that fair?
Does he have Isotoner gloves?
Um- That's not a bad one.
And I, I love Marino.
I, I, I grew up a Dolphins fan.
That's not bad.
That's not bad.
You know, the chiseled looks.
He does get frustrated with his teammates.
I, I did want him to go a little bit deeper this tournament.
I did want him to get a couple more goals, because everything he has done for this sport and on so many different stages across the globe has really been remarkable.
But he's still a little bit more of that villain-type character compared to Messi, which is more of like, you know, those, those cuddly, cushy pillows that end up on, you know, your, your teenage daughter's bed over there, right?
Like, you just, you just feel safer and more comfortable with Messi around than you do maybe with a Ronaldo.
