"Thank goodness you still play" - Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane give brilliant take on the No.10 role losing prominence in today's game

Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane were in agreement that the No.10 role has started to fade out of football during a must-watch conversation between the iconic pair.

The No.10 role is one that sees a player often operating in the space between midfield and the frontline. There have been many legendary players synonymous with such a role including Pele, Diego Maradona, and Michel Platini.

Lionel Messi made the role his own during his time at Barcelona, bagging an astounding 672 goals and 303 assists in 778 appearances. The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner's grace on the ball, quick-thinking, and eye-of-the-needle passes have wowed fans throughout the years.

However, the No.10 position seems to have dissipated somewhat over the years with the revolution of new tactics. Messi and Zidane were both in agreement that this was the case due to teams often using a 4-3-3 formation.

The iconic duo sat down for a conversation and discussed the No.10 role. Zinedine Zidane said (via AlbicelesteTalk):

"Today, the number 10 is not as important as it used to be. Just like you were saying. The truth is that the number 10, it's place, the position (is lost). If you play 4-3-3, 4-4-2, the 10 is lost you know?"

Messi gives his take on the position losing its importance and he feels teams play more with inside forwards than number 10's:

"Yes, there aren't any more left. It doesn't have the position it used to have that showed it was the leader, the midfielder, the link player, as we used to call it. Today there are teams that play 4-3-3 and they are more inside players than 10. It's true that there are only a few 10's left."

Zinedine Zidane quickly responded:

"Well, thank goodness you still play and that the 10 still exists."

The French icon was similarly an advanced playmaker during his playing days. 'Zizou' used his extraordinary footballing IQ, vision, and ball control to open teams up. He made 227 appearances for Real Madrid, scoring 49 goals and providing 68 assists.

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Zinedine Zidane insisted Lionel Messi is the most complete player he's seen

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is a joy to watch.

Zinedine Zidane waxed lyrical about Lionel Messi last year while the Argentine hero was at Paris Saint-Germain. The former Madrid manager dubbed him as the most complete player (via GOAL):

"Lionel Messi is the most complete player I have seen. He's the best dribbler, finisher and playmaker."

Messi has continuously laid claim to being the most complete player to ever grace a pitch. He's scored 721 goals and provided 344 assists in 889 club games. The 36-year-old is also Argentina's all-time top goalscorer with 106 goals and 56 assists in 178 caps.