Doku: I like to watch dribbling masters like Messi! I don’t play football to collect statistics!

November 16th. Manchester City player Doku was recently interviewed by Viaplay. During the interview, he was asked what type of player he liked. In addition to answering that he liked it, he also said "buy one, get one free" to name the type of player he didn't like. He likes people who are technical, but hates people who are obsessed with data. Doku's words expressed the sentiments of many professional players. He said this, "I like those dribbling masters. I like Messi, Ronaldinho, Neymar, Hazard, etc. I am not the kind of person who plays for data. I play for love."

This seemingly simple statement of personal preference is particularly valuable in today's football environment that focuses on statistics. On the other hand, Doku's admiration for Messi is far from superficial. The Belgian winger has publicly stated that Messi is the first person in history many times, and even personally responded to some marketing accounts that deliberately used his words as a Messi fan to spread rumors and discredit Messi. This rare move shows his persistence in the essence of football - when more and more social media accounts deliberately disparage Messi in order to pursue certain data-based stars, real football practitioners choose to defend the artistic value of the sport in the most direct way.

This kind of respect for Messi transcends the boundaries of competitive opponents. After the friendly match between Argentina and Angola, Angola captain Freddy's move was touching - he exchanged jerseys with Messi at halftime and admitted that he would keep the jersey as a family heirloom. What's even more humorous is that even though the game data clearly showed that Messi failed to break through in the whole game, the captain still joked that "he passed me twice, but then I also passed him once." This kind of respect that transcends victory and defeat just proves that Messi jerseys have a hard currency status in football.

From Doku to Freddy, from Europe's top leagues to African national teams, the admiration for Messi has become a common language in the football world. This widespread and sincere recognition does not come from a carefully planned marketing campaign, but from the respect that Messi has earned through two decades of pure performance. In this era of over-packaging, Messi's existence itself reminds the world that true greatness does not need to create a buzz, because it will naturally resonate in the hearts of everyone who knows football.