Midfielder Rodrygo De Paul shared his thoughts in defense of Argentina captain Lionel Messi.
Recently, midfielder Rodrygo De Paul became a special guest on a show by Argentine comedian Miguel Granados, who caused a stir with his act of “forcibly kissing” Lionel Messi in 2023.
In the program, Messi’s “bodyguard” recounted the moments when he and his teammates witnessed Messi leave the field in tears after an ankle injury in the Copa America final and the players’ emotions at that time.
The moment Argentina captain Lionel Messi shed tears as he left the field. Photo: GETTY
“When Leo left the pitch, the cameras showed him crying on the big screens in the stadium, we saw it with our own eyes. We said to ourselves, ‘We have to fight for him’, even though we were all very tired. During the World Cup, we all fought for Leo, because winning the World Cup was his lifelong dream. Leo radiated a positive spirit, a calmness and you couldn’t help but love him, a love that went beyond football , ” De Paul shared.
“Leo is now my best friend. He has helped me a lot with his advice during the most difficult times of my life. Leo always says the right things and they are very helpful to me. I trust Leo and know that I can tell him anything. Leo’s behavior is comfortable and that is why our relationship has become so close,” De Paul confided.
Fighting for Argentina captain Lionel Messi is the biggest motivation for the whole team in this year’s Copa America, De Paul also believes that Angel Di Maria also brings a mental boost to the team.
“This championship is for Fideo (Di Maria’s nickname). We don’t want to talk about this topic too much because he is emotional. Before the semi-final, Leo told the whole team: “These are Fideo’s last matches, let’s fight and win for him”. The final is also Fideo’s farewell, he needs this title before retiring from the national team, he deserves it. Players like Fideo will no longer be called up and it is also the end of an era, Fideo deserves to leave with his head held high”, said De Paul.
De Paul always plays the role of “bodyguard” for Argentina captain Lionel Messi . Photo: GETTY
In addition, the midfielder wearing the number 7 shirt of Argentina also shared more about the advice Messi gave him and the whole team after defeating Colombia 1-0 in the Copa America final. “On the Colombian side, they said before the match that Messi and Di Maria were not in the same form as before, so after winning, we wanted to find them immediately to “settle the score”. However, Leo immediately came to us and said: “Don’t make fun of anyone, just focus on celebrating” and the whole team did as he said”, De Paul confided.
Messi’s actions were similar to when Argentina won the 2021 Copa America after defeating Brazil. The captain of La Albiceleste did not let his teammates sing the song mocking Selecao or celebrate too much until they returned to the hotel.
The interview also mentioned the controversy in recent days when members of the Argentine team sang a song with racist content towards French players of African origin and Enzo Fernandez became the center of attention when posting a video of that celebration on his personal page.
De Paul stated his opinion as follows: “The thing about Enzo is that people don’t understand the intention of the song, it’s just a joke. I understand that there are people who suffer from racism and other issues. I think they (those who feel offended) can send Enzo a private message and talk to him directly. Call him directly and say ‘I don’t think what you’re doing is okay, it makes me uncomfortable’, not unfollow him on social media and create a fuss.”
