Messi must move to Real Madrid if he wants to become the best, says Hugo Gatti

Former Argentina and Boca Juniors goalkeeper Hugo Gatti claimed that Lionel Messi must move to Real Madrid CF if he wants to establish himself as the best player in the world.

The explosive comments came in during a recent interview. Gatti said that if Messi wants to cement his reputation alongside Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, and Pele, he must leave FC Barcelona and don a jersey for Los Blancos.

Messi's entire professional career revolved around Barca, which shows how loyal the Argentine playmaker is for his club. However, Gatti feels that the Barcelona legend doesn't stand a chance to compete against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Pele and Maradona if he doesn't prove himself in a different club.

While speaking at an interview, the former goalkeeper also mentioned Messi's lack of success in his national outfit. He also referenced the Argentine talisman's failure in the FIFA World Cup Final five years ago, when Argentina lost to Germany 0-1 in Brazil.

Gatti said, "Until Messi performs in the big games, he will continue to be a player of home games. He has to have balls to go to Real Madrid and prove everything there like Cristiano. Cristiano went to the best club in the world. Messi plays at home, on his pitch with everything. Let him perform in the Champions League and the World Cup, otherwise, he will always be one more [player]. When he performs there, he will fight with Cruyff, Maradona, and Pele."

According to Goal, he further claimed that Messi gets favourable opportunities to showcase his skills and that is natural when someone plays at home.

The 32-year-old Barcelona icon has won five Ballon d'Or titles. He also scored 608 goals and assisted 247 times in just 695 appearances throughout his career in Barcelona.

He also won La Liga's top scorer award five times and Champions League's top scorer award six times. With Barcelona, he won 10 La Liga titles, 4 Champions Leagues and 6 Copa del Rey titles.

For his national side, Messi appeared in three major finals – one World Cup and two Copa Americas. However, each time, Messi had to leave the pitch without an international trophy. However, his performance never fell short of fans' expectations as he netted 68 goals and registered 44 assists in 136 games that he played for Argentina.