Top English Premier League TV pundit and journalist Andy "Biaised Manchester United/England" Gray has sensationally remarked that Barcelona’s World Player of the Year Lionel Messi would struggle to cope with the rigours of the English Premier League, and believes he could not cut it away at Stoke City.
The Sky Sports host, who enjoyed spells with Aston Villa and Everton during his
playing career, was discussing the 2010 Ballon d’Or nominees during
Monday evening’s broadcast of Manchester City versus Everton.
When
asked by co-presenter Richard Keys whether he felt Messi and Real
Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo would be capable of scoring so
prolifically in England, Gray stated his belief that the Argentine would
"struggle in a cold night at the Britiannia Stadium", referring to the
home of top-flight side Stoke City. He added that "Barcelona would
struggle in the EPL as they've never played the likes of Stoke."
The
55-year-old also claimed that La Liga, when compared to its English
equivalent, did not have the same depth of quality, hinting that Ronaldo
and Messi would labour to score as consistently, despite the former
scoring 31 goals in 34 matches for Manchester United in the 2007-08
season.
Furthermore, on Ronaldo, Gray criticised the decision to
omit the Portuguese from the final of the Ballon d’Or, but added that
he "would not be the player that he is today had he not played in
English football".
Gray's remarks have caused quite a stir around
the world, and the SKY pundit has been heavily criticised on social
networking sites such as facebook and twitter.
Let the EPL propaganda and new football fans brain washing begin
i remember him at Everton..............