St George? Lionel Messi is the man most people wish was English
Published:
More people would like to see Lionel Messi as an Englishman than any other sports star.
That is according to the latest Ladbrokes News poll, which saw 71 per cent of votes come in for the mercurial Barcelona attacker.
Unbeaten US boxing sensation Floyd Mayweather Junior, who is 8/15 to extended his undefeated run to 48 fights when he takes on Manny Pacquaio next month, was a distant second with just 17 per cent of the vote.
West Indies big hitter Chris Gayle, one of just four players to smash a triple century at Test Level, and New Zealand rugby legend Dan Carter finished in joint third with six per cent each.
And while Messi might take some pride from knowing he has a whole nation of Englishman wishing he had different lineage the same cannot be said for the world’s best tennis player Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian may be dominating the tennis scene at present and England’s number one James Ward may rank outside the top 100 but the 210-time Major winner failed to pick up a single vote.
It seems that even on a day set aside for English national pride, tennis fans are still happy to get lost in a land of Britishness and lay claim to Andy Murray.
If only it was that easy to incorporate Messi into the British consciousness!
