Let’s deconstruct an architecture of longevity, ruthlessness, and genius in two different arenas of two GOATs and two pitches.
On December 18, 2022, Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup in Qatar at age 35. Twenty years after his debut. After four World Cups of heartbreak. After being told he could never do it for Argentina the way Maradona did.
On February 25, 2023, Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared President-elect of Nigeria at age 71. Thirty years after he first entered elected office. After being told by the sitting president of his own party that he could not win. Different games. Different stadiums. One stadium is 105 meters of grass in Lusail. The other is 923,768 square kilometers of federation, 36 states, 774 LGAs, and a voter base of more than 93 million. But the story arc is eerily similar: a man told he was too small, too late, too finished — who rewrote the ending through patience, control of space, and an almost inhuman ability to see three moves ahead.
This commentary is not about football. It is not about politics. It is about the skillset of a GOAT — Greatest Of All Time — and why certain men are impossible to replicate. Messi did it with a ball at his feet. Tinubu did it with a political machine he built brick by brick for about 30 years. Both did it by understanding one thing: the game is won before kickoff.
The core similarity: Vision, control, and timing. Let’s be clinical and compare the skillsets.
SKILLSET: LIONEL MESSI vs BOLA AHMED TINUBU
Vision sees passing lanes three seconds before they open. Sees the run before the runner does. Sees political alignments three election cycles before they matter. Sees who will be governor before the party knows.
Control of space: Messi shrinks the pitch. Dribbles in tight spaces. Never loses the ball under pressure. Tinubu shrinks political space. Controls Lagos and its economy, structure, and influence as base. Never loses grip under pressure.
Dribbling/Manoeuver: Messi beats four men with one touch. Changes direction without losing speed. Tinubu beats four power blocs with one alignment. Changes coalition without losing structure.
Free Kicks/Set Pieces: Messi wins games from dead-ball situations. Precision. Tinubu wins elections from “structure” and “ground game”. Precision in delegate mathematics.
Longevity: Messi 20+ years at the top. Adapted from winger to false 9 to playmaker. Tinubu 30+ years in power. Adapted from Senator to Governor to Kingmaker to President.
Clutch Factor: World Cup Final 2022. 2 goals, 1 assist. World Cup 2026 so far 8 goals. Delivered when it mattered. 2023 Primary + General Election. Tinubu won without presidential backing. Delivered when it mattered.
Legacy Question: “Can anyone do this again for Argentina?” “Can anyone build this structure again in Nigeria?” The answer to both, for now, is: probably not. Reason: GOATs are not just talented. They are structural.
The 30-year build: How you become unbeatable: 1. Messi: The La Masia Project. Messi did not become Messi in 2022. He became Messi in 2000 when Barcelona bet on a 13-year-old with growth hormone deficiency and brought him to La Masia.
For 22 years, Barcelona built around him. Xavi and Iniesta were taught to play for him. The entire system — tiki-taka — was designed to put the ball at his feet in the final third. By 2022, Messi was not just a player. He was the system.
Tinubu: The Lagos project: Tinubu did not become President in 2023. He became inevitable in 1999 when he became Governor of Lagos and survived impeachment, AD collapse, and PDP federal pressure. For 24 years, he built. From 1999-2007: He controlled Lagos economy and appointments. From 2007-2023, he produced governors: Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode and Babajide Sanwo-Olu. He controlled party structure in the
Southwest. He built APC. He funded it. He staffed it. By 2023, Tinubu was not just a candidate. He was the structure. That is why the 2023 APC primary was the political equivalent of Messi vs France in the World Cup Final 2022. Everyone expected the “power of incumbency” — Buhari — to decide it. Just like everyone expected France’s Mbappe to decide it. But Messi had the ball. And Tinubu had the delegates. The deliverable: Both refused to give it up.
Assumptions, dark deals and “impossible resources” argument: Every GOAT has mythology. For Messi: “He’s only good because of Barcelona. He can’t do it for Argentina.” That was the narrative until Qatar 2022. For Tinubu: “His resources are inexplicable. His grip on Lagos is undemocratic. He only won because of money and structure.” That is the narrative now. Let’s address it directly, because this is where the comparison gets uncomfortable but necessary.
In football, genius is often accused of being “system dependent”. Take Messi out of Barcelona and what do you have? Answer: Argentina 2022: A World Cup.
In politics, power is often accused of being “money dependent”. Take Tinubu out of Lagos and what do you have? Answer: 2023 – presidency won against his own sitting president. The lesson is not about morality. It is about “resource conversion”.
Messi converted talent + Barcelona’s structure + Argentina’s desperation into a World Cup. Tinubu converted 30 years of political capital + Lagos resources + national APC structure into a presidency. You can call it “dark deals”. You can call it “La Masia investment”. The result is the same: an infrastructure no one else has time to replicate.
That is why “who can defeat him now?” is the wrong question. The right question is: “who started building in 1999?”
The 5 GOATs Traits Both Share:
Trait 1: Patience that looks like passivity
Messi walked for 90 minutes. Critics called him lazy. Then in minute 91 he received the ball and won the game. Tinubu was “missing” during Buhari’s eight years. Critics called him irrelevant as national leader. Then in 2022 he entered the APC primary and swept it. GOATs do not waste energy. They wait for the ball to come to their foot.
Trait 2: Low centre of gravity
Messi is 5’7”. Hard to knock off the ball. Tinubu survived EFCC cases, political exile, party collapse, and public criticism. But still hard to knock off balance. Both absorb pressure and keep moving forward.
Trait 3: Making others better
Messi made Alvarez, Mac Allister, and Fernandez look like world beaters in 2022.
Tinubu facilitated Fashola as a minister (because Fashola was a good governor), Professor Yemi Osinbajo a vice president, and Sanwo-Olu a governor. Then beat them all in 2023 with the help of those he had made too even in the North and presidential household. GOATs do not hoard glory. They create lieutenants. Then they outlast them.
