FCBARCELONA.CAT

07.04.2010 13:27

World’s press hails the ‘Messiah’

www.fcbarcelona.cat

Leo Messi is the centre of attention in the sports press around the world. In the case of the British papers, two of the most popular tabloids used a play on words to define the Argentinean as “Messiah”.

The best in the world'; 'Pure genius'; ‘Perfect 10 ';'God lives in Catalonia '. These are just some of the headlines that have filled newspapers around the world in reaction to Messi’s fantastic performance against Arsenal. They all agree that Leo is the best player in the world.

The British press

True to their usual style, two British tabloids – The Sun and The Daily Mirror – employed the same play on words to describe Leo as the Messiah while Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger told reporters: “He’s Playstation”, a sentiment echoed in ‘The Times' and on the BBC website.

Italy takes note

The Italian media were also keeping a close eye on Barca and, especially, Messi – no doubt with a semi-final clash against Inter Milan very much on their minds. 'La Gazzeta dello Sport' headlines with 'Forward Messi', while 'El Corriere dello Sport' describes him as ' paranormal '.

France, Argentina and Germany

France’s flagship sports paper, 'L'Équipe', tells its readers that “God lives in Catalonia”. Meanwhile, in his native Argentina, the online edition of 'Olé' shows a photo of Messi sitting on the pitch celebrating a goal.

Finally, in Germany, ‘Bild’ describes last night’s match as ‘The Messi Show’.