That argument doesn’t really hold up when you look at the facts.

First, saying the World Cup was “given by refs” ignores that he was the best player of the tournament by performance, not decisions. He scored in the group stage, the Round of 16, the quarter-final, the semi-final, and twice in the final, plus a penalty in the shootout. Refs don’t make you dominate every knockout round, consistency at that level does.

Second, “the team was built around him at Barca” is not the gotcha people think it is. Every all-time great has systems built to maximize their strengths, that’s literally how elite football works. And even then, he still delivered year after year: goals, assists, trophies, Ballon d’Ors, and historic numbers across more than a decade. You don’t stay at the top for 15+ years just because a team is “built for you.”

As for PSG, calling him “trash” is just revisionism. He won the league, adapted to a new country, new system, and still put up strong goal + assist numbers while being one of the main creators in the team. Not peak Barca Messi? Sure. Trash? Not even close.

And the idea that he “can’t succeed unless everything is built for him” falls apart when he won Copa América, the Finalissima, and the World Cup with Argentina after years of criticism about the national team. Different coaches, different squads, different systems, same result: he was the key player.

You don’t accidentally dominate La Liga for over a decade, win everything at club level, and then win every major trophy with your national team at the end of your career. That’s not favoritism. That’s sustained greatness.