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1986 FIFA World Cup winner Sergio Batista has revealed that Lionel Messi didn't get along with Juan Roman Riquelme during the earlier stages of his career.
When Messi entered the international scene with Argentina, Riquelme was the star of La Albiceleste. An extremely gifted midfielder with flair, vision and skills, Riquelme was one of a kind and a joy to watch.
However, Batista claimed that during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Messi and Riquelme didn't get along well.
Speaking to Ole, he revealed:
“Roman is a very bada**, the lively son of a b**ch. Roman and Lionel at one point didn’t get along, but now they do. But watching those guys play, the truth is, how can it be? I told them the way to play that I wanted and that I liked, and then they played."
Argentina went on to win the Olympic Gold in 2008. However, Messi and Riquelme now share a great relationship. Messi reportedly considers him as his idol and the duo kept communicating during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Messi said (via journalist Julies Laurens):
“For many years, I’ve been talking to Roman. And during the World Cup, we spoke after the matches.”
Laurens even claimed that Messi did his fiery celebration in front of Van Gaal because he thought Riquelme didn't shine at Barcelona because of him.
Lionel Scaloni on the debate of Lionel Messi winning the 2023 FIFA The Best
Lionel Messi won the FIFA The Best award for 2023. However, considering the player's performance was taken into account after the 2022 FIFA World Cup, many opined that Manchester City's treble-winning superstar Erling Haaland deserved it more.
Lionel Scaloni shared his take on the matter, saying that Messi winning an award because of fans' votes shouldn't be debated about. He said (via Mundo Albiceleste):
“I think the debate goes beyond football, I don’t think that between the football player or the coach there is a debate as to why he won it. If it had been won by Haaland or Mbappé it would have been fine too. It’s media stuff. Debating why Messi won it when football people vote is strange.”
Lionel Messi has now won four FIFA Awards for being the best player in a calendar year. He also won the FIFA The Best in 2023, 2022 and 2019 and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2009.
