For a long time in Argentina, and even in Major League Soccer, there have been discussions about the ‘Messi clique’—the necessity of surrounding Lionel Messi with players he is familiar or comfortable with to bring out the best of the Argentine.
At Barcelona, this happened to some extent, as many of his teammates grew up alongside him and moved up to the first team. At Inter Miami, it’s Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, and several Argentine players. In the national team, there was a period with Sergio Aguero, Javier Mascherano, and Angel Di Maria.
In an interview with Juan Pablo Varsky on Clank Media, the Argentine captain spoke about his return to the national team after many of his former clique teammates retired or were no longer selected. This caused difficulty for the then PSG star in bonding with younger teammates.
Lionel Messi on His Younger Teammates
Messi expressed, “I found it very hard to come back to the Argentine national team. They were all new kids, and I didn’t know any of them. It’s very difficult for me to fit into groups because of my personality.”
He added, “They played a few friendly games and were getting to know each other… they were a new generation… and it was Rodrigo (De Paul) who helped me a lot to assimilate with his teammates.”
Lionel Messi and Argentina
Messi and Argentina have since won three championships under the guidance of Lionel Scaloni and are now pursuing their fourth title at the Copa America.