This is the age old question that people want answered. With all of Messi's incredible achievements and how he continues to defy all of us watching with his exploits for Barcelona; we still wonder how good Messi would be in a different team, and a different league in a different climate.
How would Messi fare playing away at Stoke City?
I've gone on record in saying that playing at Stoke in the coldest time in winter is one of the hardest things to do in football. It's a different football test, and it is one where it's more about your state of mind rather than purely your skill. Stoke may have changed a bit since the Pulis days where they were more brutal, but the fabric still remains. They have a great home record, and when teams come to their patch in winter, all of them find it very difficult.
Messi is amazing, and talent is talent. You can put him on any pitch in any condition, and he will still have the best control of a football you will see in the world. But it is fair to say that he won't move as freely in almost sub-zero windy conditions as opposed to the far warmer and nicer Spanish ones. When you mix that with how hard Stoke play, with the disrespect they show to skillful players, targetting them especially; Messi will have a pretty rough time getting his way.
To help my argument, we need to look no further than the Copa America final. It was Messi up against the home team Chile. The crowd was rampant as they urged their team to create history and win that Copa for the first time. Messi had no time to breathe. Chile played hard and intense, being aggressive in the tackle and not allowing Lionel Richie any space. The tactic worked as Messi did not know how to fight back and again fell into his shell on the big stage for the national team.
What is to say the same won't happen away at Stoke?
To counter that argument, Stoke City are nowhere near as good as Chile. The Chileans played very hard with a lot of passion, but they were also the best team in the tournament playing some great football with some amazing individual talent. So Messi would be able to get more openings and succeed at more dribbles if he was up against Stoke than he did against Chile.
I would love for it to happen. If Stoke could somehow get into the top four, and the two could meet in a Champions League knockout game where Messi would have to travel to their ground in winter, we would finally get our answer.
For now...we just debate...
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