Week to forget for two sporting all-time greats

LIONEL MESSI remains this morning the most talented soccer player on the planet. Each season brings fresh support for his case to be considered the best yet, superior to Pele, Cruyff and Maradona.

He is also diminished this morning, however. If he broke no rule when passing from a penalty for Luis Suarez to score, he breached a sporting convention. It ridiculed opponents Celta Vigo, and there is no doubt that had such a stroke been pulled by anyone else, the reaction would have been less kind.

The European champions can be sensational but no team is so saintly that it cannot fall prey to hubris, and that is what happened against Celta Vigo. Messi’s (left) behaviour was misguided and arrogant.

Ronnie O’Sullivan tripped up in the same manner at the Welsh Open on Monday. He refused to complete a 147 maximum break as he felt the £10,000 prize for doing so was not enough. Like Messi, O’Sullivan is a wonder in his sport and as with Messi, his talent is probably unprecedented.

But like the Argentinian he used his gifts in the service of arrogance and stupidity.

The argument that sports stars are role models has never been convincing, but that does not mean their conduct is unimpeachable.

Just because they are phenomena does not immunise them against behaviour that is cheap and self-indulgent. Both have achieved greatness in their careers, but this week they showed that even the mighty stumble too.