Maradona: "Don't deify, Messi is just a player"
The Argentine football legend believes that his junior does not have the leadership qualities that others expect of him.
"Messi is a great player but not a leader. Before talking to the coach and the other players, he plays PlayStation. Then, he wants to be a leader on the pitch. He is the best player in the world along with Cristiano Ronaldo," Diego Maradona said on the TV show.La Ultima Palabra Mexico.
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| Messi has yet to return to the national team after Argentina's disappointing World Cup performance. Photo: AFP. |
"For me, it's hard to say this, but turning a player who goes to the toilet 20 times before each match into a leader is useless. That's the truth. Don't deify Messi, he's just a player like everyone else in Argentina," said the 57-year-old legend.
Lionel Messi is the star of the Argentina national team and many coaches have tried to build their strategies around him. Messi has been given the captaincy and the responsibility of leading the team for many years. However, he has seemed uncomfortable with that role at times.
Messi has not played for the national team since Argentina were eliminated in the round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup. He has excluded himself from the squad and interim coach Lionel Scaloni has had to call on other attacking players to replace him. Argentina are still waiting for Messi's return, but Maradona believes this should not be talked about too much because it could put pressure on the Barca striker.
"I won't call him now, but never say anything is impossible. We have to take the pressure off him. We need to free Messi from the leadership role to see the Messi we want. If it were me, I would let Messi play the way I want. I would call him and let him play the way I know him," Maradona said.
