Why does Messi needs to win a major tournament in order to be compared to Pele and Maradona?

[pastro243]

Scisca said:
It goes without saying, that nobody has ever been capable of playing the way Messi plays. The sport went so far ahead, that if you sent an average modern team back in time, they'd all be legends now. Still, just like LeBron secured his place among the greatest players ever with 3 titles, Messi should start collecting some international cups. I mean, it's not like Argentina isn't totally stacked with talent. He has a great team and should finally win something. His curse though is that he's Argentinian and World Cup is the only time he can really shine. Copa just isn't what Euro is. European players have it easier to secure their legacies with cups.

I don't think that is the case, South Americans value Copa América a lot.

The 2007 one doesn't strike Messi hard since he was still young and that Brazil was unstopable, but the 2011 one in Argentina and the final he couldn't win last year did hit hard in his legacy. Masche said it hurt more to lose Copa América final than the world cup one.