Journalist Says He Helped Bring Lionel Messi to Argentina's National Team

"Because of me, Leo Messi reached Argentina's national team". A Catalan journalist revealed, "I saw the talent from the beginning, I knew he was the next Pele." Sport 5, published: 10.06.26, 11:34. Messi (Getty) | Photo: Sport 5

In exactly one week, Leo Messi and the Argentina national team will play their first match at the 2026 World Cup. The Flea, who won the last World Cup, will try to continue rewriting his history and add another major title. Meanwhile, an ESPN documentary exposed the team's efforts to recruit him, and the fear that he would slip away to Spain.

Argentina's youth teams did not really know Messi early on, but they came to their senses in time and managed to secure his participation in the senior national team. Jaume Marst, a senior Catalan journalist who covers Barcelona, revealed, "I saw Messi's hidden talent from the beginning, I knew he was the next Pele. I think that thanks in large part to me, he reached the Argentina national team, and I am very proud of that."

Marst, together with other journalists, prepared a highlights clip of the Flea and handed it over to the Argentine federation. According to him, this was one of the main reasons and one of the catalysts for Messi's call-ups to Argentina's various national teams.

From a professional standpoint, Argentina played its final warm-up match tonight ahead of the tournament. The world champions beat Iceland 3-0, Messi came on as a substitute and scored.

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