Kevin Keegan Claimed 'Great' Liverpool Player Reminded Him of Lionel Messi

Kevin Keegan is one of the greatest footballers to ever play for Liverpool. He dazzled in the 1970s, helping the Reds win three league titles and their first-ever European Cup in 1977.

He then proved his status as a true legend of the sport by winning the Ballon d'Or twice. Keegan is just one of six British footballers to win the prize, and the only one of the lot to have won it twice (doing so in 1978 and 1979).

His record, however, pales in comparison to the great Lionel Messi. Indeed, the Argentine has won the Ballon d'Or a record eight times. Still, if there are any English footballers who are best-placed to talk about perhaps the game's greatest ever footballer, it may well be Keegan.

With that in mind, it's interesting to learn that he once compared a Liverpool icon to Messi.

Kevin Keegan Felt Luis Suarez Shared Similarity With Lionel Messi​​​​​​

January 2011 was a busy winter window for Liverpool. Fernando Torres was sold to Chelsea for £50m, and the club reinvested that money in two promising strikers: Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez.

Naturally, big things were expected of both. Having been the player's manager for a period at St James' Park, Keegan praised the former Newcastle United forward, saying Carroll was 'probably the best' in the air of any player he'd ever seen.

Sadly, the Englishman would flop, with his £36m transfer fee looking like a huge overspend. Suarez, however, proved to be worth every penny of the £22m it took to pry him from Ajax.

Keegan instantly recognised the Uruguayan's potential to become a special player and even compared him to Messi. He explained that both South American forwards shared the trait of persistence, saying:

"He's such a great player. He's got the vision that all great players have, cinema surround style, that gives him the ability to be aware of everything around them. And just like Messi, if he tries a trick and it doesn't come off he'll just try it again."

His comments came in November 2011, as the two forwards were still looking to gel at Anfield. Keegan explained why it wasn't necessary to click early on, saying: "You can't just throw two people together, just because one's big and the other one's a bit small and one's got a seven on his back, the other a nine.

"It doesn't work like that; it's how clever they are, I don't mean in a sense academically clever, on a football field, football brain wise; how clever Carroll is at knowing what Suarez wants and how clever Suarez is at knowing what the other wants. If they get into that sort of mode, there's a chance. But that will only come over a period of time."

As alluded to before, things never fell into place for Carroll at Liverpool. Suarez, however, went from strength to strength, bagging 82 goals and 32 assists in just 133 games for the Reds.

Ironically, his performances at Anfield helped him later earn a move to Barcelona, where he would link up with Messi. Suarez proved to be a brilliant teammate in Spain as they won four La Liga titles and the Champions League together (among other honours).

They later also reunited at Inter Miami, with the pair having now shared the pitch 311 times, directly linking up for 120 goals (the most of any of Messi's teammates, with Neymar next closest on 67 in 206 games). Considering their compatibility, Keegan certainly seemed to be thinking along the right lines when he saw similarities between the pair way back in 2011.

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