Inside The Spurs

'I'm The Manu of Football': Lionel Messi Praises Spurs, Argentina Legend

One legend praises another.

Jeremy Brener

'I'm The Manu of Football': Lionel Messi Praises Spurs, Argentina Legend
'I'm The Manu of Football': Lionel Messi Praises Spurs, Argentina Legend /
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One of the greatest athletes in the history of Argentina athletics is now a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

With San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili joining the Hall of Fame, the history of basketball is now immortalized in Argentina and it has a place in the history of the game.

Ginobili joins the likes of the late Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi among the greatest athletes in the country's history to be forever recognized in their respective sport.

Messi is considered to be the greatest soccer player in the world for the current generation, prompting a journalist to call Ginobili "the Messi of basketball." And that triggered a response and compliment from Messi about Ginobili.

"It makes me very proud to hear a journalist say that Manu is the Messi of basketball. In fact, they should say that I am the Manu of football," Messi said.

Ginobili was drafted by the Spurs in the second round of the 1999 NBA Draft, but was stashed overseas until 2002 when he joined the team in San Antonio as a bullish guard off the bench. It took him a little while to get acclimated to the NBA game, but once he did, he helped stretch San Antonio's championship window.

In 16 seasons with the franchise, Ginobili averaged 13.3 points per game and was named an All-Star twice while winning four championships with the Spurs.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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