Alex Scott has responded to criticism over her recent implication that Lionel Messi may not be picked by Pep Guardiola in the current Manchester City side.
The pundit first made the comments during a discussion with Chris Kamara on Sky Sports' Goals on Sunday about the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Speaking on the topic of Messi, Scott said: "Just looking at how Pep (Guardiola) plays the game now, everyone is high press, 100%, tempo. So I don't know whether that would just be a question.
"Yes I understand, Messi is Messi, he's going to win you games, but just seeing how every single player for City is pressing, closing down, it's a different tempo."
Scott faced a barrage of abuse from some supporters following the quotes, with many shocked that she would even question Messi's place in the team.
She responded on her personal Twitter account with a post which read: "Would 'todays' Messi fit into the Manchester City Team? Of course, he could...
"But the point on the show, which I thought would be interesting to the debate was...
"Would Pep have to change City's high-intensity style of play to fit Messi in? And if so, WOULD HE??" followed by a shrugging emoji.
The tweet was met with support by some, with one user responding "I think it's an excellent question", while another added "Valid question. This City side aren't heavily reliant on one player, that's the beauty of Pep's team in contrast to today's Barca."
Scott has been a full-time pundit on the likes of BBC and Sky Sports since her retirement from her playing career in 2017, and she has covered events such as the 2018 World Cup and 2019 Women's World Cup.
lVlO-B
175
This has to be the most anti Messi thing I ever heard [Crylaugh][Crylaugh][Crylaugh]. Messi doesn’t press now so he would ruin peps system ffs. How did pep win 2 trebles with Messi not contributing anything defensively?? How effective was this “ press “ in the UCL when city got knocked out 2yrs back to back. Barca literally press like amateurs & 32 year old Messi dragged that team to a semi finals. City got knocked out by Tottenham Messi put 2 past that same team & hit the post twice could have easily scored 4. That’s exactly what Pep is missing on his team that player who will win u those types of games. Imagine this city team for a second & I guarantee u u can’t name a team with a straight face that would beat them. Really don’t know who to put in that CDM position Rodri who I thought was going to excel at city had a very underwhelming 1st game it is his 1st game so I can’t say much & Fernandinho is a bit old. Gundogan imo when fit is a very underrated player with so much quality & adds even more versatility to that midfield. One other solid CB & city would literally run a rampage vs every single team they come against.
Arunraj
128
Fit in Messi style? He's too advanced for this generation. So Messi will fit into Pep style.
JustGoWithIt
93
Wanna Know What's Loyalty