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Argentine midfielder Rodrigo De Paul has opened up about his close friendship with superstar Lionel Messi. The 31-year-old is known as one of Messi's closest pals in football and he has revealed how his friendship started with the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Rodrigo De Paul played a key role in Argentina's success in recent years alongside Messi as the Albiceleste won the FIFA World Cup and three more trophies in the last four years. The Atletico Madrid star has claimed that he shares an 'outstanding' friendship with Lionel Messi.
De Paul has revealed that he mistakenly sat in Lionel Messi's seat in team bus during Argentina's national camp in Madrid in 2019. He also later sat on the former Barcelona superstar's seat in the plane and has been close to Messi since. The tenacious midfielder said, as quoted by All About Argentina:
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"I’ve always seen my friendship with Messi as longstanding. The first day he came in the national camp was in Madrid, March 2019. We trained together, and on the bus, I sat in his seat by mistake, and I said to him, “Sorry, sit here,” so he sat next to me. On the plane, the same thing happened, I sat in his seat again, and I said, “Oh my gosh, again!”
De Paul added:
"Since then, we’ve become friends. We talk almost every day about so many things. I love him so much as a person, he’s amazing. I’ve seen him do great things that many don't know about."
De Paul could become teammates with Lionel Messi at club level as he has been heavily linked with a move to Inter Miami. He has been a key player for Atletico Madrid in recent years and scored three goals and provided ten assists in 53 games last season.
Javier Mascherano opens up on rumours linking Lionel Messi’s Argentina teammate Rodrigo De Paul to Inter Miami
Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano has opened up on speculations about Rodrigo De Paul joining Inter Miami this summer. The Argentine midfielder, who is close to Lionel Messi, has been heavily linked with the Herons.
Mascherano has admitted to being aware of media reports about De Paul but declined to make a public statement on the matter. He also hailed the 31-year-old's qualities as a footballer. Mascherano told Deporte Total USA via Bolavip:
"I’ve also read and heard what’s been reported in the media. There’s nothing official regarding Rodrigo De Paul. I always say the same thing: we need to be cautious because he’s a player under contract with another club, and I don’t like speaking about players who don’t belong to our team. If something changes in the future, I’ll have no problem talking about it."
Mascherano added:
"He’s a high-quality player, a World Cup champion, he plays for the Argentina national team, and has been competing in Europe for a long time. Players like that are the ones we like. But I don’t know anything about it."
Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami are not having the best season this time out as they find themselves fifth in the MLS Eastern Conference table. They were knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the FIFA Club World Cup.
