I can't believe someone's seriously making the argument that Rooney is better than Messi.
Messi does have quiet games. Who doesn't? Zidane had a ton of quiet games but football is not about one single game. Trophies are not won in a single game, they're won through sustained excellence over a season, even trophies like the CL requires at least 6 quality matches to be played (everything after the group stages). Some people are extremely quick to jump on Messi when he has a quiet game but he's done it in big games and he's done it against the best teams, and he's still only 22. I see him developing into more a playmaker and thus getting more involved in the game. Right now, he's the finisher, he's the guy at the end of the move which he's good at because of his excellent finishing, close control and movement, but he's still developing.
He's not going to score or dominate every match, but that doesn't make him 'shit' or not the best player in the world. He is the best, and his performances throughout this season, against opponents of varying quality, are evidence of this fact.
Rooney is also an excellent player whose finishing has improved dramatically but even though he's been spectacular for Man Utd this season, he's still not as good as Messi is.
Maybe some people are overhyping Messi when they laud him as one of the best ever when he's only 22 and has only done it consistently for 3 years, but if he keeps this up, the list of team achievements and individual awards that he'll have accumulated at the end of his career will speak for itself. If Barca win La Liga and no one rapes the WC, he'll already have 2 world player of the year awards at only 23. If he keeps up his current form, he'll easily rack up 5 or 6 wpoty awards and that'll put him comfortably in the discussion for the best player ever.
Edit: His impact on each match is obvious to anyone watching. You can see the opposition team shaping up differently according to wherever he is on the pitch and how one or two midfielders are always following him. Even if he literally does nothing all game, his impact is already significant in terms of the invaluable space that his presence has created for his teammates. I know other players have this impact on matches; Rooney does against the shittier teams, Cristiano does as well, but no one to the extent that Messi does, and I suppose with the other players that Barca have, they take more advantage of this fact than any other team does with their star players.
