Lionel Messi becomes first male footballer on Time Magazine cover (except in the U.S.)

Recently winning his third consecutive Ballon d'Or award has earned Lionel Messi a headshot and the title of "King Leo" on the cover of the latest edition of Time Magazine. Well, every cover except the United States version, where a story about "The Power of (shyness)" was deemed more marketable. Then again, it's not entirely clear that this isn't just a more subtle portrayal of Messi.

According to Barcelona's official website, Messi is now the first male footballer to ever claim the cover of Time -- an impressive feat consider the American-based publication has been around since 1923 (and that Pele played in New York for two years and David Beckham still does). The 1999 Women's World Cup winning U.S. team became the first ever footballers to be featured on the cover that year. Still, that U.S. cover remains elusive for male players, even if pictures on magazine covers are increasingly irrelevant. In 2010, the magazine's World Cup guide cover story had a drawing of a generic, faceless player.

This is far from the first instance of Time using a cover for the U.S. that is different from the rest of the world, though. Previously, the U.S. has gotten covers about the division of domestic chores, "the silent majority," and "the China bubble" instead of the rest of the world's covers on Islam, "why the U.S. will never save Afghanistan," and Tintin, respectively.

As for the magazine's actual interview with Messi, the topic of media-en! forced r ival Cristiano Ronaldo proved to be a prime subject of discussion. And, unsurprisingly, it once again proved how little of a rivalry there is between Spain's top two scorers.

On whether his rivalry with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo makes him a better player:
I don't think so. I never really fixated on him, or compared myself with another player. My mentality is just to achieve more each year, to grow both as an individual and as a team, and if he wasn't there, I'd be doing the same thing.

On what he thinks of Ronaldo:
I think he's a good person. I think he's a good player, who brings a lot to Madrid, and who, in any moment, can decide a game.

If Time really wanted to push this imaginary rivalry, they should've put Ronaldo on that U.S. cover.