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Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has disclosed how Lionel Messi reacted to the news of his appointment as the national team manager. Scaloni claimed that the 35-year-old was happy and backed La Albiceleste to win the biggest trophies.
Under the tutelage of Scaloni, Lionel Messi’s Argentina won the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in December 2022. Messi emerged as the star of the pack, winning the Golden Ball, courtesy of his stunning return of seven goals and three assists in seven matches in Qatar.
Scaloni’s team played engaging, expansive, and high-intensity football over the course of the tournament and deservedly won the most coveted trophy in football after a 36-year hiatus. However, when Scaloni was first appointed in 2018, there was not much expectation from the 44-year-old manager. He had not managed a senior team until then, with his only prior notable coaching experience being a spell with the Argentina U-20s.
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According to Scaloni, however, his lack of experience did not matter to Messi, as he welcomed the appointment with open arms. Describing Lionel Messi’s reaction to his appointment, Scaloni told Cope’s “El Partidazo” radio program:
“At the time we were going to assume, we told Messi. He laughed, he was happy. He told us that he wanted us to go great and I told him that we were waiting for him.”
Messi has so far played 44 games under Scaloni, scoring an impressive 32 goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo set to captain Riyadh XI in friendly clash against Lionel Messi’s PSG
Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are set to take on Riyadh XI in a high-profile friendly clash in Saudi Arabia on January 19. PSG will bring in all their big guns for the encounter, including Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe.
Riyadh XI, which will feature players from both Al Nassr and Al Hilal, are set to be led by the mercurial Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo, who joined Al Nassr earlier in January, is yet to make his debut for the Saudi club due to a carryover two-game suspension from the FA. However, the suspension is not applicable to friendly clashes, making him free to feature for Riyadh XI on Thursday.
To add more spice to the game, Ronaldo is set to receive the captain’s armband. The news was broken by Turki Al-Sheikh, who is Saudi Arabia’s chairman of the General Authority for Entertainment.
He posted a video on his official Twitter handle, in which Ronaldo is seen receiving the armband and the shirt ahead of the upcoming encounter.
The clash will mark the first meeting between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi since December 2020. That time, Ronaldo came out on top as Juventus beat Barcelona 3-0 in the group stage of the 2020-21 Champions League campaign.
