I think he's "the next Maradona" in that he fills the Maradona role more closely than any other player does for Argentina-- pretty much I agree with what lionel just said.
Is he as good as Maradona? No, of course not... but he's very young still, and in the future, who knows?
Plus, "Those Goals". Even if Messi were to never play another game, there is an incredibly eerie similarity between his goal against Getafe, his handball goal, and the two corresponding Maradona goals. It's so creepy that it's practically beyond words: every decent young Argentine player gets pegged as "the next Maradona" at some point, but how many of them have precisely recreated Maradona's two most famous gaols? Whether it proves to be "a sign" of greatness to come or becomes in retrospect merely a very eerie novelty, only time will tell.
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