Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant might be one of the most confident athletes on the planet. He believes in himself to the highest degree and so much so that he went on record to say that he could defeat Lionel Messi one-on-one in soccer.
The only caveat was that Morant wants to play goalkeeper when going up against Messi.
Ja Morant Messi Quote
"I'm never going to say that somebody is going to beat me one-on-one in anything. I don't care what it is, what sport it is. Soccer — who is the best player in soccer? C'mon, we can play. I want to be the goalie, somebody set it up."
We promise that this is a real quote from Morant and we’re not like ESPN falling for fake quotes from Ballack Sports. Here’s Morant going on record to say he can take on Messi.
Ja Morant said he wants to take on Leo Messi one-on-one pic.twitter.com/mW1wHmZGk3
— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 12, 2022
Messi fans will be pleased to hear that one of the best players in the NBA right now thinks Leo is the best in the world. As for him wanting to challenge Messi at soccer, well good luck with that Morant. There’s a solid chance Morant will end up like Jerome Boateng:
Messi vs. Bayern (UEFA Champions League semi-finals - 06/05/2015)
"Here he is again, here he is again...that's astonishing! It's absolutely world class!" The goal that broke the Internetpic.twitter.com/LMkyiyexLB— ⭐️Ice (@zaruled) July 4, 2022
If Morant and Messi do the challenge it wouldn’t be the Argentine’s first cross over with the NBA. Golden State point guard and 2022 NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry gave Messi a shoutout when he made the switch from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain last year.
Messi has some good taste I see. Good luck at PSG my guy pic.twitter.com/7Lj6S0tevb
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) August 10, 2021
There was also the time in 2015 when Messi and the Argentina national team went to an Indiana Pacers game.
Messi getting excited to see himself on the Jumbotron at Wizards-Pacers in 2015 is so pure @brfootball pic.twitter.com/kv8qNkqX6L
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 1, 2020
Lionel Messi poses with Luis Scola, Paul George, & other #Pacers after the game. See photos: http://t.co/rVA8WZs9XP pic.twitter.com/YuoZuh4r9s
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) March 26, 2015