Dirty TackleDundee United’s Gary Mackay-Steven getting made fun of for Messi chants
Dundee United signed 21-year-old Liverpool youth team wash-out Gary Mackay-Steven from second-division Airdrie United last summer and the winger has been a revelation for the club in just his first season. Winning the Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month award for February and earning his first cap for the Scotland U-21 team after scoring and pulling off a breath-taking bit of skill (later dubbed the "Gazgetaway") against St. Johnstone, Mackay-Steven has prompted fans to sing "Are you Messi in disguise?" during matches.
This has not gone unnoticed by his teammates, though. From the Daily Record:
Mackay-Steven said: "I heard the fans chanting and I'm a bit embarrassed because you see what [Lionel] Messi does every week. He's in a league of his own, the best player in the world and possibly ever.
"I like watching Messi because the things he does with the ball are amazing.
"It's nice to hear the fans saying that but it has given the lads in the dressing room plenty of ammunition.
"They give me a lot of stick. They've been calling me Lionel every day. And some of them are even saying they'll be chanting 'GMS' in the Nou Camp soon.
At 5'9", Mackay-Steven is a little taller than Messi. He's also a bit blonder and his Lego collection probably comes nowhere near the size of Messi's. But that's nothing a leg shortening surgery, a little hair dye and a trip to the toy shop can't fix.
