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“Come on!”: Ally McCoist slams John Terry’s ‘ridiculous’ Messi comparison for Max Dowman

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Max Dowman might be the talk of the town for Arsenal right now but Ally McCoist believes everyone needs to take a step back.

Dowman’s cameo at the weekend helped Arsenal past Everton and it was an iconic moment as he became the youngest goalscorer in league history.

However, after Dowman was compared to Kaka and also by John Terry to Lionel Messi, Ally McCoist believes it’s time to chill out a bit.

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Ally McCoist laughs off Max Dowman and Lionel Messi comparisons

Whenever a young player bursts onto the scene, we are always going to get comparisons to greats of the game, it’s just how it is.

However, McCoist believes things are already going too far.

“Everything will always be second to Aguero. You can argue that Gyokeres’ goal was the bigger moment really,” McCoist said on TalkSPORT.

“Everyone needs to calm down. Let the kid go and play. If Gyokeres doesn’t score, then Max Dowman doesn’t get his goal. I feel sorry for Max Dowman, everyone is getting carried away and I don’t want to throw water on the fire but let’s not compare him yet to, was someone comparing him to Messi?

“JT [John Terry] come on. JT is a man who normally talks a lot of sense. But I’m going to have to dig him out here, I mean come on. He’s a good young player.”

What John Terry actually said about Max Dowman

There’s no doubt we are seeing something special from Max Dowman at the moment but the reality is that he is at the start of his career.

Lionel Messi, Argentine footballer greets his fans during GOAT India Tour at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Photo by Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Still, that hasn’t stopped the hype and Terry did indeed compare his dribbling skills to Messi.

“Max Dowman, what a player by the way! 16 years of age. Absolutely incredible. I watched him play against Chelsea about a year ago, and I’ve not seen anyone glide past players other than Messi,” Terry said.

“That’s a big, big comparison, but this man is a proper talent, and he’s going to play a big part in Arsenal’s future, also England’s as well. But super, super talent and what a win for them today.”

Of course, Dowman will be revelling in the Messi comparison. But it’s important he keeps his head down and continues to work hard.

If he can squeeze out just half the career Messi has had, then he’ll have done quite alright for himself.