Dami

Olise & Raphinha were in the PL 2 years ago. Nobody called them Ballon d'Or level. Raphinha was fighting relegation at Leeds. Olise was a Palace YouTube comp. They leave England and suddenly both are world class, 30 G/A at Barca & Bayern. Why? PL is too competitive. In Spain/Germany you have 3 hard games a year. In England you have Brentford away, then Newcastle away, then Chelsea. No free games. Your numbers must drop. Ronaldo's best in England was 42 goals. In Spain he did 60+ for 4 straight seasons. Same player. McTominay was "not good enough" at Utd, goes to Italy and becomes Serie A Player of the Season. Put Saka & Mbeumo in Ligue 1 and they look like Yamal & Doue. Bring Doue to PL and he looks like "a youngster who needs time." And this is part of the reason I will NEVER rate Messi in GOAT Debate. He spent his entire prime in La Liga where he had 35 free games a season to pad stats. He never tested himself in the EPL where you have to play a strong opponent every week. Ronaldo did it in England, became the best in the world, and then still did 60+ in Spain. Messi never left his comfort zone. He went to Ligue 1 when he was 32 and even there he struggled. You can't be the GOAT if you avoided the hardest league in the world your whole career. PL makes good players look average. Other leagues make average players look like gods.