“I was watching him all my childhood on TV” - Argentina star opens up on playing alongside Lionel Messi in attack

Argentina teenage wonderkid Alejandro Garnacho has opened up about the prospect of playing alongside Lionel Messi for the 2022 FIFA World Cup winners.

Garnacho, 18, is set to make his international debut for Argentina in the upcoming friendlies against Australia (June 15) and Indonesia (June 19). The Manchester United attacker has been named in Lionel Scaloni's 27-man squad for the two games.

The exciting Argentine winger may also get the opportunity to play alongside Lionel Messi in attack. The iconic forward has also made Scaloni's squad following his heroics in the World Cup last year.

Garnacho has given a glowing verdict on the prospect of playing with Messi saying that he had watched the latter when growing up, telling TyC Sports' Gaston Edul (via AlbicelesteTalk):

“With Messi, I didn’t talk much yet, because it still seems unreal for me. I was watching him all my childhood on TV, and now he is here, it’s just incredible.”

Lionel Messi led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar at the end of last year. The legendary forward struck seven goals and three assists in eight World Cup games. He picked up the Golden Ball for his exploits in Qatar and is set to continue his iconic international career.

Garnacho has already played alongside one of the greatest players in history. He spent the first half of the 2022-23 season playing together with Cristiano Ronaldo before the Portuguese icon left last November.

The Argentine winger enjoyed a breakout season at Old Trafford, scoring five goals and providing as many assists in 33 games across competitions. He will hope to take that form onto the international stage.

---

Carlos Tevez explains former Argentina teammate Lionel Messi's move to Inter Miami

Tevez claims that Messi was put off by Barca's financial turmoil.

Lionel Messi is leaving Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month and will be joining Inter Miami. The iconic forward had interest from former club Barcelona and Saudi giants Al Hilal but opted to join the Herons in the MLS instead.

The Argentina captain's former teammate Carlos Tevez has explained the 35-year-old's reasons for choosing Inter Miami. He said that a return to Barcelona was snubbed, as he didn't want to be a burden on any of the Blaugrana players' futures:

"He didn't want to return to Barcelona and have his teammates be sold or their salaries cut down, to be a bad guy in the movie again. I think it was all very lukewarm on the part of Barcelona.”

The Blaugrana have been enduring financial complications and need to shed €200 million off their wage bill. Messi's return would have been an expensive one, but the club were eager to lure him back to the Camp Nou.

Messi became a Blaugrana icon during 16 seasons with the La Liga giants. He scored 672 goals and provided 303 assists in 778 games across competitions, winning four Champions Leagues and ten La Liga titles.