Pope Francis: It

By Max Wise

Pope Francis has described as ‘sacrilege’ attempts the penchant of some members of the football fraternity to describe Lionel Messi as God.

Messi is regarded by many people as the greatest footballer of all time with numerous collective and individual honours serving as evidence to back that claim.

The host of the Spanish TV programme, La Sexta, Jordi Evolve recently interviewed the Pope where he was asked to give his take on how his fellow countryman has been widely portrayed.

Pope Francis, who himself is a fan of the Barcelona and football icon, replied that it was blasphemy since Messi was only human and not a God, who is to be worshiped. 

“In theory, it is sacrilege. You can't say it and I don't believe it. Do you believe it?” quizzed Pope Francis.

“I don't [laughs]. People can say he is God, just as they may say 'I adore you' but only God can be worshipped. Those are expressions from people. 'This is a God with the ball on the field' is a popular way for someone to express themselves.”

“Of course, he is very good, but he isn't God.”

Lionel Messi’s records speak for themselves and even at the age of 31, the Argentina national team captain is showing no signs of slowing down.

Messi currently leads the Spanish La Liga top scorers chart with 31 goals so far, while he has taken the Blaugrana outfit to the final of the Copa del Rey, top of the La Liga standings and into the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League in his first season as captain.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is Barcelona and Agentina’s all-time top scorer, and has scored the most goals in a calendar year and also the youngest Argentine to score in the World Cup, among many other accolades.