The Pope was asked about Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi this week, and said that while Messi is a breathtaking soccer player, he is not “God.”
OK, Pope.
“You can’t say it and I don’t believe it. I think people say ‘he is God’ just as they say ‘I adore you,” Pope Francis said while appearing on Spanish TV La Sexta’s show “Salvados.” “You have to adore only God. It’s expressions that people use. This is a god with the ball on the pitch. It’s a popular way that people have of expressing themselves. Of course it is a joy [to watch Messi play]. But he is not God.”
Pope Francis also said in theory it would be sacrilegious to refer to Messi as “God.”
While I am sure this is technically blasphemous, I will say to Pope that Messi has done things with a soccer ball I did not believe were possible, and if we were looking for the miracles of a deity, I would look no further than the goal Messi scored against Nigeria in the World Cup when he nestled a 40-yard ball on his thigh at full sprint, then took a delicate second touch mid-stride and finished side netting, something that was as holy as anything I have ever seen on this earth.
This is a man who is so good that opponents routinely give him standing ovations. He is the greatest to ever live.
If Messi is not God, then God flows through him. Maybe we can reach a compromise there, Pope.
