Facundo Buonanotte has certainly lived up to the hype following his summer transfer to Leicester City.
Facundo Buonanotte made a move to the King Power Stadium in the most recent window, joining on a season-long loan from Brighton and Hove Albion.
With Leicester City struggling to produce much of an attacking threat during the early stages of pre-season, there was a lot of pressure on the Argentine to perform.
But the 19-year-old has certainly stepped up to the plate so far this season. Troy Deeney was blown away by Buonanotte after his role in the Foxes’ 3-2 win over Southampton late last month.
The winger scored his third Premier League goal of the season in that clash, now sitting on a total of five goal contributions from just eight league appearances.
Given what Carlos Tevez previously said about Buonanotte, however, the fact he has been Leicester’s MVP this term is not too surprising.
Facundo Buonanotte responds to Lionel Messi comparison
Buonanotte joined parent club Brighton in January 2023 from Argentine outfit CA Rosario Central.
Tevez was the club’s manager at the time and made a comparison between the now Leicester man and Lionel Messi.
He said: “When he brakes and accelerates, he reminds me of [Lionel] Messi. He is at a very high level.”
It was a huge compliment to the player, who has now shared his feelings on it in an interview with the Telegraph.
And while Buonanotte appreciated Tevez’s comments, he did suggest any direct comparisons were disrespectful to Messi.
He said: “No, it is impossible.”
“He was my idol growing up, my absolute hero. I’m only 19 and he was playing many huge derbies for Barcelona against Real Madrid by then.
“It was great of Tevez to say that and I think maybe he was referring more to my speed and acceleration off the mark. It went viral and exploded everywhere, but it would be a lack of respect towards Messi to make a direct comparison.”
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Facundo Buonanotte stats compared to Lionel Messi at 19
While Buonanotte is keen not to disrespect Messi, the pair are not too far apart in terms of stats when comparing the latter at 19 to his fellow countryman right now.
Messi was, of course, already playing for FC Barcelona at that age and had two La Liga titles under his belt.
Buonanotte is yet to land a move to a top club and has instead played 94 games for Brighton, Leicester and Rosario Central.
At the age of 19, Messi had already scored more than the Leicester man but there is not too much difference in terms of total goal contributions.
| Type of goal contribution | Buonanotte career stats | Messi at 19 |
| Goals | 12 | 19 |
| Assist | 6 | 4 |
Given Messi was playing in a much better side than Buonanotte ever has, Leicester and Brighton fans should be pleased to see he is largely keeping pace with the all-time great at this stage in his career.