"Very friendly and very calm" - Honduras defender opens up on locking horns with Argentina captain Lionel Messi 

Honduras star Hector Castellanos opened up on the conversations he had with Argentina's Lionel Messi as both sides clashed in an international friendly.

Messi scored twice in the game as Albicelestes secured a 3-0 win. However, Castellanos caught the attention of the media as he did a good job of marking the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner during the game.

The 29-year-old Honduran, who plays for FC Motagua at club level, revealed how he prepared for his task of keeping one of the greatest players ever content. He trained by marking his international teammate, Jhow Benavides.

Speaking to TyC Sport, here's what he said (h/t publinews.gt):

"Very friendly and very calm" - Honduras defender opens up on locking horns with Argentina captain Lionel Messi. I marked Benavides, who is good with the ball, and we try to do the brand work that he received in a match with Barcelona. They showed us so much the video with what he was doing, I had to follow him and see how he was outlined."

Castellanos went on to talk about the conversations he had with Lionel Messi on the pitch. He mentioned that the PSG superstar was extremely calm and relaxed during the game.

"I'm going to be super honest. Very friendly and very calm, he approaches me and he tells me, aren't you going to follow me the whole game? From time to time he would stare at me as if he was a little annoyed, but he never said anything to me, not even a rudeness."

The duo exchanged shirts after the game.

“I take the shirt, I won a lot. We finally made eye contact and I was going to wave the shirt at him, but he remembered and nodded at me. I took advantage of the personal brand and told him."

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Lionel Messi opens up on protecting himself ahead of 2022 FIFA World Cup

PSG superstar Lionel Messi in action for Argentina

With the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, Argentina fans will hope that PSG superstar Lionel Messi stays fit for the tournament starting on November 20. However, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner is not too keen on protecting himself.

In a recent interview with TyC Sport, here's what Messi said:

"If you are going to play thinking about the World Cup, taking care of yourself or not messing up, in the end, it can turn out worse. I believe things happen because they happen, and if things have to happen they will happen. God willing nothing happens to anyone and we can all arrive as we are now."