Superstar Lionel Messi admits it is difficult to face central defender Sergio Ramos, despite playing together for two years at PSG.
“I fought a lot against Sergio Ramos. He was the player who annoyed me the most,” Messi said in a YouTube interview on June 18. “After that, we became teammates, but in El Clasico matches, we always grabbed each other. El Clasico matches are very tense.”
Messi (left) faces Ramos in the 2019 El Clasico match. Photo: AP
When he played for Barca from 2004 to 2021, Messi often faced Real Madrid’s Ramos. That was the period when Barca showed their dominance over Real in domestic tournaments. In 17 years, the Camp Nou team won 24 titles, including 10 La Liga championships and 6 King’s Cups. Meanwhile, Ramos and Real were only crowned La Liga five times . Messi personally also set a record of scoring 26 goals in El Clasico matches, despite often being “taken care of” carefully by Ramos.
In 2021, Messi and Ramos joined PSG together. They became teammates for two years in France, winning two Ligue 1 titles and a French Super Cup together. Messi then moved to Inter Miami, while Ramos returned to Spain to play for Sevilla.
Messi is currently alone while training with Argentina. He explained that his former roommate, Sergio Aguero, has retired. “I always shared a room with Kun in the national team and because he retired, I have to stay alone. I don’t have any other roommates,” Messi said.
Messi and Aguero won the 2005 U20 World Cup, the 2008 Olympic gold medal and the 2021 Copa America. At the end of 2021, Aguero had to retire due to a heart condition.
Messi is preparing with Argentina for the Copa America defense campaign in the United States. On June 14, the Argentina captain scored twice in a friendly win over Guatemala 4-1. The reigning World Cup and Copa America champions will play three Group A matches of the 2024 Copa America against Canada on June 21, Chile on June 26 and Peru on June 30.
Copa America 2024 includes 10 South American teams and six CONCACAF teams. These teams are divided into four groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarterfinals.
