Messi gave an exclusive interview to Lo Del Pollo channel. Messi talked about his life in Miami, his views on the future of the Argentina national team, and topics such as Neymar and Ronaldo. This article is the first part of the interview.
Leo, how have you been lately? Is everything okay?
I'm fine, everything is fine, and very peaceful.
We are in Miami once again. We did an interview about two years ago, when you were still adapting to the city. Now you have been here for a long time. Are you happy at the club? Is everything okay?
Yes, to be honest. We are having a great time at the club, everyday life is good, and the family is good too. Seriously, we are very happy.
You have said that many times before. When you first came to Inter Miami, the club was still in its early stages and didn't have much global attention. But it's different now, everyone's eyes are on it. And because of your arrival, because of your every statement, expectations for this team are getting higher and higher, and everyone feels that this team must win. In other words, Inter Miami has now been placed in a position that matches these players in the team, especially the best players in the world.
To be honest, when we first came, this was still a fledgling club, and a lot of changes needed to be made, and it needed to continue to grow in order to become a true football club.
Later, the club moved forward bit by bit. To be honest, everyone in the club has been very cooperative and has always wanted to do these things well. As time went on, the results slowly came out, not only in terms of competition, but also in terms of club construction.
When a club continues to grow, it will naturally want more, and it will also introduce players to improve competitiveness and strive to win. But sometimes football is not just about these things. Football depends on many situations and many key moments. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't.
You met Franco Colapinto a few days ago, it was a very nice meeting. I don't know if you have seen it before, he has been asked about you many times and said that he loves you very much and likes you very much. Once you seemed to have sent him a jersey. Did you know before that Franco kept saying "I want to meet him"? Finally, this time we met.
I had never been in contact with him before. Through YPF, he sent me a helmet, and I also received his greetings, and I knew that he had always hoped to meet me one day. We also have some mutual acquaintances. A few days ago, there happened to be this opportunity, they came here to compete, and he was able to come to the training ground, so we met. Seriously, he is a very nice person.
Speaking of Franco, the outside world's impression of him is that he is very motivated and always rushes forward when he encounters things. Do you think you can give him some advice? Because you have experienced this kind of attention very early, from leaving Argentina to go to Barcelona, and it has been like this until today. For a person who is now being discussed a lot by the outside world, and Argentinians have a lot of expectations for him, do you think you can give him advice? Or should he only experience these things himself, and time will slowly tell him how to adapt?
I don't really like giving advice to others. I think he has to experience his own story. He will definitely adapt slowly, and he will also encounter some setbacks, and then he will slowly understand what is going on. This is also part of his growth, whether as a person, as an athlete, or from the perspective of his entire career.
I think this is the lesson that life gives him, he must experience it personally, he must learn from it, and he must be prepared to face many things. Because when you are in the spotlight, good or bad, everything will come at you from all directions. Especially when things are not going well, he needs someone to support him, and he needs to be with the people closest to him, especially his family and the circle around him. These are the people who can ultimately help you get through difficult times. When things are going well, everything will be much easier, and many people will come over. But the really important thing is that when things are not going well, you need to know who is still by your side.
Now everyone is already looking forward to the World Cup. For many Argentinians, the World Cup is almost a time coordinate. For example, some people will say, "I got married one year after a certain World Cup." Everyone always uses the World Cup to recall many things. So what do you think of Argentina's current situation? As the world champion, this team is going to defend its title. Facing this World Cup, what is Argentina's current state?
To be honest, the team is in good shape. Although many young players are currently affected by injuries, or lack the rhythm of the game for various reasons, as long as this team is together, everyone has proven that they are competitive. This is a team that always wants to win, is willing to give everything, and will do its best to achieve its goals.
But this is the World Cup after all. We all know that the World Cup is always very complicated because you will encounter many strong teams. Of course, Argentinians can have expectations, just like every time they participate in a major competition, whether it is the Copa America or the World Cup, everyone will have expectations.
But at the same time, we must also know that I think there are some popular teams in front of us that are in better shape now. Whether from the team situation or the national team as a whole, they are coming better. And this Argentina will compete and give its all as always, just like this team has been doing since it was together.
Who are these popular teams you mentioned? If not Argentina, which teams do you think it would be?
I think France is in good shape again now, they have many very high-level players. Spain is also, Brazil is also. Although Brazil has not been in the best shape recently, Brazil is always a favorite, and they also have enough players to compete in all official events.
And then there are the teams we always mention, such as Germany, England, these traditional powerhouses. And Portugal, I think Portugal is also a very competitive and very outstanding team now. In addition, there will always be some surprising teams in the World Cup.
I hope it doesn't appear on our side, right? Don't suddenly have an upset, and it just happens to fall on Argentina.
Yes. You also know that some strange things always happen in the World Cup, and some situations that everyone can't imagine before the game will also occur. But I still say that there are many high-level teams in this World Cup.
You mentioned Brazil just now, and the outside world is also discussing Neymar. For those of us who love football, it's really hard to imagine if Neymar misses the World Cup. What do you think? Do you think Neymar should go to the World Cup?
I can't evaluate it objectively, right? Neymar is my friend, of course I hope he can participate in the World Cup, and I hope all the good things happen to him, because with his personal qualities, he deserves these. I hope he can go to the World Cup. In the World Cup, everyone hopes that the best players can appear. And no matter what state Neymar is in now, he will always be one of the best players.
So, it would be a very good thing to see him in the World Cup. This is meaningful for Brazil and for football. I hope he can participate. But I still say that, for me, I can't be objective, because I think he should always be there.
Neymar is indeed a very good person, right? Yesterday I saw a clip of him participating in the South American Cup game. A child cried after seeing him, and Neymar stepped forward and hugged him. Neymar seems to be the kind of person that everyone will naturally like.
Yes, to be honest, he has a very special charm, and he doesn't pretend. He just lives his life the way he wants to, and does things the way he feels.
He does what he thinks, and expresses what he feels, and doesn't really think about what repercussions these things might bring. He just lives like this, very happily and naturally.
I remember when we did an interview before, you told me that you, Suarez, and Neymar had a group called "South Americans" because you were South Americans in the Barcelona team at the time. Is this group still around? Or has it been cleared? After all, you can see Suarez every day now, is this group still active?
I don't think it's very active. We haven't chatted in it very often for a long time. Occasionally we will say hello, or when something strange or special happens, someone will say a word or two in it. Later, I went to Paris, and I had daily contact with Neymar again, and time slowly passed.
This group is indeed not very active now. To be honest, I think it should still be in my phone, it should still be there. But even so, we still chat occasionally. Our friendship has been many years.