A former national teammate of the Barcelona star believes there’s no stopping him on the pitch and he is overdue international success
Ex-Argentina international Juan Pablo Sorin has described Lionel Messi as “an alien” and expressed his hopes that the country can reward his performances with silverware before he retires.
Sorin played briefly with Messi in the national team set-up before retiring in 2009.
Having seen the Barcelona star perform up close and now from afar, Sorin conceded there’s no stopping Messi at his best and stressed he deserves some international silverware for all he’s done in attempting to rebuild the Argentina team.
“Luckily we played together,” Sorin told Ole. “He is an alien, there is no way [to stop him].
“You saw the goal he made against [Athletic] Bilbao in the final of the Copa del Rey almost as a right winger – a monster! I have serious pride in having shared his first times in the national team.
“Messi assumed this reconstruction of the national team from a leading place and not wanting to break anything in there. Then he also understood, as it happens to all of us when we grow up, what is the weight of his voice.
“I hope we get a result in a major tournament with him. Maybe we deserved it a lot, but his struggle, having left so many things and past so many situations…
“I think that not only Argentines want it but the fans of the world expect him to also win something big with Argentina.”
Messi claimed a record sixth Ballon d’Or in 2019 and despite now being 32, remains a reliable performer for Barcelona in La Liga this season.
Sorin adding that Messi’s skills and consistency over the past decade has been nothing short of ‘crazy’.
“It’s like he owns the ball, he has it and he knows that he will do the most difficult thing, that he will be decisive every time he touches it,” he said.
“And when he realised that, he assumed that responsibility according to his personality. Without having to shout it, without going out to make strong statements.
“Knowing and feeling decisive in whatever shirt is a difficult responsibility. But the most difficult thing is maintaining that level of genius and being the best for so many years – it’s a crazy thing!”
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