‘Because of Me, Lionel Messi Reached the Argentina National Team’

A Catalan journalist revealed, ‘I saw the talent from the very beginning, I knew he was the next Pele.’ Sport 5 Published: 10.06.26, 11:34 Messi (Getty) | Photo: Sport 5

Exactly one week from now, Leo Messi and the Argentina national team will play their first match in 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 national team’s efforts to recruit him, and the fear that he would slip away to Spain. In Argentina’s youth teams, they did not exactly know Messi at an early stage, but they came to their senses in time and managed to secure his participation in the senior national team.

Jaume Marset, a senior Catalan journalist who covers Barcelona, revealed: ‘I saw the hidden talent in Messi from the start, I knew he was the next Pele. I think that largely because of me he reached the Argentina national team, and I am very proud of that.’

Marset, together with other journalists, prepared a highlight clip of the Flea and passed it on to the Argentine Football Association. 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 before the tournament. The world champions beat Iceland 0-3, Messi came on as a substitute and scored.

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