It is the perennial question – how would Lionel Messi do in the Premier League? As years passed, hopes of an answer were fading but with the news that the Barcelona icon has asked to leave the club, the prospect has never felt more real
这是一个长期存在的问题–莱昂内尔·梅西（Lionel Messi）在英超联赛中的表现如何？随着岁月的流逝，人们对答案的希望逐渐消失，但是随着巴塞罗那偶像要求离开俱乐部的消息，这种前景从未像现在这样真实。
It is just a shame Stoke did not stick around
只是可惜斯托克没有坚持
Messi tells Barcelona that he wants to leaveTransfer Talk: Could Lionel Messi really leave Barcelona?Get - All channels 23 a monthAt least it is still wet and windy in Manchester
梅西告诉巴塞罗那他想离开巴塞罗那转会：莱昂内尔·梅西真的可以离开巴塞罗那吗？获取-每月23个频道至少曼彻斯特仍然潮湿多风
A reunion with Pep Guardiola is seen as the most likely option if Messi is to opt for the Premier League
如果梅西选择英超联赛，与瓜迪奥拉重聚是最可能的选择
It would be the fantasy transfer made real
这将是幻想转移成为现实
A nation awaits
一个国家在等待
But at the age of 33, what could we expect from Messi? To most, he is a footballing god
但是在33岁那年，我们对梅西有什么期待？对大多数人来说，他是一个足球神
Beyond criticism
超越批评
But there are always the naysayers
但是总有反对者
Those who wonder whether he could repeat his startling numbers outside of Spain
那些怀疑他是否可以在西班牙以外重复他惊人的数字的人
They watch with scepticism as he pummels hat-tricks against Celta Vigo, Mallorca and Eibar - and that was just this season
他们怀疑地注视着他对Celta Vigo，Mallorca和Eibar进行帽子戏法-那只是本赛季
When Messi is helping himself to goals, he can make it look so easy - and perhaps that is the problem
当梅西帮助自己实现目标时，他可以使目标看起来如此简单-也许这就是问题所在
For some, it can become tempting to conclude that the competition itself must be easy
对于某些人来说，很容易得出结论：竞争本身必须很容易
The argument is flawed
论点是有缺陷的
Take Messi out of the equation and it all looks rather different
让Messi脱颖而出，一切看起来都大不相同
There have been more hat-tricks scored in the Premier League over the past decade than in La Liga, Messi excluded
在过去的十年中，英超联赛中帽子戏法的得分超过了西甲（不包括梅西）
He has been responsible for almost a quarter of them in that time
那时他负责了将近四分之一
Ten out of 33 in the past three seasons
过去三个季节中有33个中的10个
The reality is that La Liga is one of the toughest competitions - if not the toughest competition - in the world
现实情况是西甲是世界上最艰苦的国际象棋摆法之一-即使不是最艰苦的国际象棋摆法
Sevilla underlined that depth in winning the Europa League for a sixth time recently
塞维利亚强调了最近第六次赢得欧洲联赛的深度
Spain has provided almost half of the winners of European competitions since the turn of the century with eight different clubs from La Liga competing in finals in that time
自本世纪初以来，西班牙已为欧洲国际象棋摆法的冠军提供了近一半的国际象棋摆法，当时来自西甲的八支不同俱乐部参加了决赛
More than England
超过英国
In short, it is an elite competition that has frequently been made to look far too easy because of just two players - Messi at Barcelona and, for nine years, Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid
简而言之，这是一场精英国际象棋摆法，通常看起来太容易了，因为只有两名球员-巴塞罗那的梅西和九年来在皇家马德里的克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多
The only other player to pass the 30-goal mark in a season in La Liga over the past decade is Luis Suarez - who also did just that in the Premier League during his final season with Liverpool
在过去的十年中，西甲赛季中唯一一位通过30球得分的球员就是路易斯·苏亚雷斯-他在利物浦的最后一个赛季也曾在英超联赛中做到这一点
There were 92 fewer goals scored in La Liga than the Premier League last season
西甲进球比上赛季英超联赛少92
As a result, extraordinary as it might seem given nobody has registered such numbers in the competition, it is reasonable to think that,with a top English club, Messi"s record would be similarly stratospheric
结果，鉴于似乎没有人在国际象棋摆法中注册过如此大的数字，这看起来非同寻常，因此可以合理地认为，对于拥有顶级英国俱乐部的梅西来说，他的战绩也同样如此。
That is not to say he would not need to adjust
这并不是说他不需要调整
Even though stylistic differences between major leagues might not be as pronounced as they once were in this globalised world, recent figures suggest the Premier League remains more fast paced than La Liga
尽管主要联赛之间的风格差异可能没有以前在这个全球化世界中那么明显，但最近的数据表明，英超联赛的步伐仍然比西甲快
The average number of high intensity activities in the competition is far higher than the other four major European leagues
国际象棋摆法中高强度活动的平均数量远高于其他四个欧洲主要联赛
Pressing from the front was a feature of Messi"s game as a youngster under Guardiola, of course, but those days are long gone now
当然，在瓜迪奥拉的带领下，梅西在小时候的表现是前场的压制，但如今这些日子已经过去了
In fact, he has seemed to saunter around in recent seasons, trading intensity for longevity, protecting his body to ensure his availability
实际上，他在最近几个赛季似乎步履蹒跚，为了长寿而交易强度，保护自己的身体以确保有空
It has worked
它起作用了
Messi has rarely been injured, playing more minutes than any other player in La Liga over the past decade
梅西很少受伤，在过去十年中上场时间超过西甲任何其他球员
His total of 28,792 minutes played far exceeds that of any outfield player in the Premier League in that time
他总共出战28792分钟，远远超过了当时英超联赛的任何外场球员
Kyle Walker comes closest but is 3,850 minutes adrift
凯尔·沃克（Kyle Walker）最接近，但漂泊3,850分钟
That"s a full season
整个季节
Messi has been remarkably robust
梅西非常强大
If he does not appear to work as hard as others, it is reasonable to conclude he has done so to ensure he is on the pitch for the maximum amount of time in the knowledge that when he is on the pitch, he is always a danger to the opposition
如果他看起来不像其他人那样努力，那么可以得出结论，他这样做是为了确保自己在球场上的时间最长，这是有道理的，因为他知道在球场上时，他总是危险的反对派
How much of an impact would this less mobile version of Messi have in the Premier League? It is a fair question
移动性较低的梅西版本对英超联赛会产生多大影响？这是一个公平的问题
But there are facets of his game that would most likely translate easily regardless of the backdrop
但无论背景如何，他的游戏中都有许多方面很容易实现翻译
For example, his record in dead-ball situations is far superior to that of any other player
例如，他在死球状态下的记录远胜于其他任何球员
It would be reasonable to expect his astonishing feats from free-kicks to continue in the Premier League
可以预期他的任意球带来的惊人成就将继续在英超联赛中进行
Messi has been incredibly consistent in that department over the past three seasons
在过去的三个赛季中，梅西在该部门一直保持着令人难以置信的一致性
He scored six from 47 attempts in the 2017/18 season, six from 41 in the 2018/19 season and five from 43 in the 2019/20 campaign
他在2017/18赛季的47次尝试中获得了6分，在2018/19赛季的41次中获得了6次，在2019/20赛季的43次中获得了5次
That is 17 free-kick goals in three seasons of football in La Liga
这是西甲三个赛季足球的17个任意球进球
Only one player in the Premier League has scored even five free-kick goals in that time - Southampton"s James Ward-Prowse
当时，英超联赛中只有一名球员甚至打进了5个任意球进球-南安普敦的詹姆斯·沃德·普劳斯
It is not because the duties have been shared around at clubs either
也不是因为俱乐部也分担了职责
Manchester City have scored the most free-kick goals of any Premier League team over the past three seasons but their total as a squad is still less than half that of Messi"s
在过去的三个赛季中，曼城队的进球数是英超球队中最多的，但他们的阵容总数仍不到梅西的一半。
He is the maestro
他是大师
It is a testament to his accuracy from distance - almost passing the ball into the corner of the net
从距离的角度证明了他的准确性-几乎将球传到了球网的角落
While there is no reason to think his free-kick record cannot be repeated in any competition, Messi retains the ability to find space in regular play too
尽管没有理由认为他的任意球记录不能在任何国际象棋摆法中重复，但梅西仍然拥有在常规国际象棋摆法中寻找空间的能力
A drop of the shoulder is still enough
一滴肩膀还足够
As a result, Premier League goalkeepers would have to deal with his phenomenal shooting from outside of the penalty box
结果，英超联赛的守门员将不得不从禁区外应对他的惊人射门
Messi has scored 35 goals from that zone in the past four seasons in La Liga
在过去的四个赛季中，梅西在该地区攻入35球
The player to have scored the most from outside the box in the Premier League in that time is Manchester City"s Kevin De Bruyne and even his tally of 15 pales in comparison to the Argentine
当时在英超联赛中框外得分最高的球员是曼城的凯文·德·布鲁因（Kevin De Bruyne），与阿根廷人相比，他的15次得分也相差无几
Of course, shooting and scoring is only part of Messi"s game
当然，投篮和得分只是梅西的一部分
He first wowed crowds with his dribbling and, astonishingly, that ability to beat a man remains a weapon even into his thirties
他最初的运球让人们赞叹不已，令人惊讶的是，击败男人的能力仍然是他三十多岁的武器
The context here is important
这里的背景很重要
By his standards, there was nothing particularly unusual about Messi"s dribbling numbers last season - he was doing what he had been doing for over a decade
按照他的标准，梅西上赛季的盘带数据并没有什么特别的例外-他正在做他十年来一直在做的事情
By his standards
以他的标准
By the standards of anyone else, this was outrageous
按照其他人的标准，这太过分了
Messi completed no fewer than 182 dribbles in a competition in which no other player managed even 100
梅西在一项国际象棋摆法中完成了不少于182次运球，其他球员甚至都没有做到100次运球
Only one fewer than Adama Traore completed in the Premier League last season
仅比上赛季英超联赛的Adama Traore少一杆
Just part of the package with Messi
只是梅西包装的一部分
Dribbling might be a young man"s game but Messi"s passing masterclasses are likely to continue even as his pace deserts him and he comes deeper in search of the ball, taking on more of a role in the build-up play
运球可能是一个年轻人的国际象棋摆法，但梅西过去的大师班很可能会继续下去，即使他的步伐使他不知所措，而且他在寻找球的过程中更加深入，在积累国际象棋摆法中发挥了更大的作用
He is, after all, one of the greatest passers of a ball that the game has ever seen
毕竟，他是国际象棋摆法中有史以来最伟大的传球手之一
Messi registered 21 assists in La Liga last season, almost twice as many as any other player and more than anyone has ever managed in a single Premier League season
上赛季梅西在西甲获得21次助攻，几乎是任何其他球员的两倍，并且是单赛季英超联赛中任何人都无法做到的
Would he be able to transfer those numbers? Hard to say when this country has never seen a player with such vision
他可以转移这些号码吗？很难说这个国家从未见过如此有远见的球员
It is his ability to thread through-balls in behind even packed defences that really separates him from any other player on the planet
正是他的传球能力使他与星球上其他任何球员都真正脱颖而出，甚至在紧凑的防守后面
Over the past three seasons in La Liga, Messi has completed 70 such passes breaking the defensive lines
在西甲的过去三个赛季中，梅西完成了70次这样的传球，打破了防守线
Again, De Bruyne is the closest to him in the Premier League
同样，德布鲁因（De Bruyne）是英超联赛中最接近他的人
Again, his numbers are a mere fraction of Messi"s
同样，他的数字只是梅西的一小部分
There is little reason to doubt that he could pull off these passes in a Manchester City shirt just as effectively as he has done for Barcelona
几乎没有理由怀疑他能否像在巴塞罗那那样有效地穿上曼彻斯特城球衣
He would still be able to see the pass and he would still have the runners
他仍将能够看到通行证，并且仍然会有跑步者
City are every bit as dominant in England as Barcelona have been in Spain
在巴塞罗那，城市在英格兰的统治地位与西班牙一样大
The possession statistics highlight this point
拥有统计数据强调了这一点
While Barcelona have consistently enjoyed over 60 per cent of the ball in La Liga for many years, since Guardiola"s arrival at the Etihad Stadium, City are similarly dominant
尽管巴塞罗那多年来一直在西甲享受60％的球，但自瓜迪奥拉到达阿提哈德体育场以来，曼城同样占据主导地位
In fact, they have averaged more possession than Barcelona in that time
实际上，那时他们平均拥有的资产超过巴塞罗那
Will we ever see Messi at Manchester City or any other Premier League team? That remains to be seen
我们会在曼城或其他英超球队中见过梅西吗？这还有待观察
But the evidence suggests it would be a mistake to believe that the competition would feel alien to him
但是有证据表明，相信国际象棋摆法对他来说是陌生的，这是错误的。
It seems far more likely that it would be the extraordinary gifts of Lionel Messi that would feel alien to anything witnessed in the Premier League ever before
看起来更有可能是莱昂内尔·梅西（Lionel Messi）的非凡天赋，使他们对英超联赛中目睹的一切感到陌生
