Alejandro Garnacho is the face of Argentina‘s new generation of stars, which will eventually replace the likes of Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria, who are not getting any younger. But before stepping away from the national team, Di Maria had a piece of advice for the Manchester United gem, who idolizes Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Garnacho has a bright future, but the only thing I wouldn’t do would be to imitate Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal celebration. I would rather celebrate goals the way Messi does,” the Benfica winger said with a laugh in an interview with TyC Sports.
It’s not a secret that Garnacho is a huge fan of the Portuguese star, whose rivalry with Messi remains fresh even with both stars competing miles away from each other. The 19-year-old got the chance to spend time with Ronaldo in Manchester, where he imitated Cristiano’s trademark “Siuu” celebration more than once.
However, Garnacho has also shown deep admiration for Messi, especially since the first time he met the Inter Miami star at a training camp with the Argentine national team. Leo seems to get along with him as well, as he looked for Garnacho after scoring a free-kick goal against Ecuador last year. After all, the young winger admires both stars just like millions of fans. Di Maria, however, only has admiration for Messi.
Di Maria names Messi, snubs Ronaldo in his dream team
Apart from encouraging Garnacho not to celebrate like Messi’s “rival,” Di Maria showed he had no problem to overlook Ronaldo by snubbing CR7 from his Best XI of teammates throughout his career.
Di Maria named Emiliano Martinez at goalkeeper, with a back four defense that includes Sergio Ramos, Javier Mascherano, Nicolas Otamendi, and Marcelo. Apart from himself, the former PSG star chose Neymar and Rui Costa in the midfield. Up front, he went for an offensive trio made up by Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Kylian Mbappe. That’s right, no room for Ronaldo.
Di Maria spent four seasons next to Cristiano at Real Madrid, leaving the Spanish giants in the summer of 2014 after playing a key role in the club’s long-awaited 10th UEFA Champions League title.
