Fans debate over why Messi strolls around the pitch during matches, label it a 'tactic'

Lionel Messi is considered to have one of the most tactical and intelligent footballing minds. He is known to carry his intelligence on the field, becoming aware of every move that the opposition makes. Messi is known to cover most of the miles during a game simply by walking. Many consider this way of playing the game is a tactic of the legend while others wonder if Messi is adamantly lazy to run on the pitch. Fans have been putting down analyses on social media showing the reason behind this. 

Messi strolling around the pitch is a 'tactic' for some and 'laziness' for others

According to a thread posted by the Twitter handle, Trung Phan, Messi’s habit of walking first came to notice of the people during Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the El Classico during the 2017-18 season. He had walked 83% of the game while sprinting only for 1% of the game. 

Another assumption is that he conserves energy by walking. Messi’s walk cannot be lazy by any means, as the player manages to find the goal by judging the wide-open spaces. According to research by analytics experts from NBA (Sac Kings) and Barcelona, spaces can be created ‘actively’ by running into open spaces or ‘passively’  by staying in high-value places while the play shifts away. The research was displayed at the MIT Sloan conference in 2018.

Walking around on the pitch has clearly worked for Messi as he was named the Player of the decade-2010s.

Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) as a child. His previous team Barcelona paid for his treatment for years since he joined the team. This is considered the reason he has been skills and brains over athletics for a long time.

Meanwhile, another Twitter handle, Pausa Futbol had previously analyzed Messi’s walking and how he used to hold his territory for his previous team Barcelona. In the thread, it has been debated that Messi’s walking is not an exercise in futility. His strolling is intentional but goes against the common football intuition. Messi holds high-value positions during matches. Since 2017 he has managed to maintain a high-value position 66% of the time. Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta are the only players who managed to register 50% on the same scale.

The 34-year-old football legend bid adieu to his boyhood club Barcelona in August this year to join the French outfit, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), where he is set to be accompanied by other football stars like Neymar Jr, Mbappe, and Sergio Ramos.