In a long-ranging interview with magazine El Grafico, Lionel Messi talks about playing for Argentina, his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Luis Suarez amongst others. The Barcelona man won the quintuple with the Catalans last season but missed out on winning the Copa America losing to Chile in the finals.
With Neymar and Suarez up top, Messi has been able to influence and dictate the game unlike anything else. The three of them have blown almost every defence in the league and in Europe and when asked about his relationship with the aforementioned two strikers, Messi said, “In truth, we really do get along well, both on and off the field.
"We do our best to work for the collective of the team and this gives us all added confidence.
"Maybe being all South Americans is a motive that makes us feel closer although this does change when we pull on our respective national team shirts.”.
On the topic of the national team, Messi is close to breaking Gabriel Batistuta's record for most goals scored for Argentine but the little magician insists that isn't the reason whe plays and that he's targeting just trophies.
“I'd rather win something with the national team to be honest," he said
"I'm not all that interested in records, I'd rather win trophies."
While Messi has always maintained that he isn't in it for personal glory, many compare him to Real Madrid's living legend, Cristiano Ronaldo and when asked about how his relationship is with Ronaldo, he said, “We're both professionals and defend the interest of our club sides.
"We're rivals on the pitch and that's the height of it. sometimes we win and on other occasions we lose. There has always been a huge mutual respect.”
Messi on the cover of El Grafico:
