Kylian Mbappé spoke about Lionel Messi and how he did not get the respect he deserved while in France.
Mbappé played alongside Lionel Messi for two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain. The Frenchman was on the end of several assists provided by the Best player in the world and with Messi no longer at PSG, Mbappé gave his opinion on Messi. Speaking in an interview with La Gazzetta, here is what he had to say:
“He’s one of greatest players in the history of football. It’s never good news when someone like Messi leaves.
“I don’t quite understand why so many people were so relieved that he was gone. He didn’t get the respect he deserved in France.”
Olympique de Marseille are interested in bringing in Marcelo Gallardo as coach.
Marseille could soon be a little more Argentine. According to Germán García Grova, the club is moving forward in negotiations for Marcelo Gallardo.
The 47 year old has previously played in Ligue 1 at Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain but never played with Marseille. He last coached River Plate where he became an icon as a manager, winning several trophies, including the Copa Libertadores.
Lionel Messi has spoken about his Argentina and World Cup future.
Messi is presently with the Argentina national team in Beijing for their match on June 15 against Australia. The World Cup winner sat down with China TV where he spoke about his future with the team and if he will play at the next World Cup. Here is what he had to say:
“As I said before, I don’t think I will participate in the next World Cup. I don’t know what will happen in the future but I haven’t changed my mind about it. I would like to be there to see it, but I’m not going to participate.
“After achieving the World Cup, which was what I was missing, I am satisfied and grateful for the career I have had. And that is the most important thing for me. I think I played my last World Cup.”
Lionel Messi will start against Australia but will not be travelling to Indonesia.
Messi will take part in one of the two matches during Argentina’s Asian tour this week. According to Gastón Edul, the Best player in the world will be in the starting eleven against Australia but will not even be travelling to Indonesia for the match on June 19 in Jakarta.
Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni spoke about the current workload on the elite players.
Lionel Scaloni has a squad which is mostly made up of players that are signed to European clubs. And the constant travelling between South America and Europe is a worry for the international treble winning coach.
Scaloni spoke in an interview about the current number of matches on the elite players. In an interview with FIFPRO, here is what he had to say:
“[The situation] worries us a lot, yes. When Argentina plays in Venezuela, for example, there is not only the workload of the player from the previous game in Europe to consider, but also the travel. Then the second game, you have to go back to Buenos Aires which is another seven hours of travel.
“The reality is that it is unthinkable that this can improve, because the players all play in Europe and the number of matches isn’t going to change.”
In regards to the South American World Cup qualifiers which begin in September:
“The truth is that we have very little time and we try to think more about recovery than training because all we want is for them to perform at their best – we can’t overload them. This in itself represents a setback that must be dealt with in the best way possible.”
The World Cup winning coach added the following:
“They are the main actors, the ones who will have to stand up at one point and say, ‘either this happens or we don’t continue’. Communication is fundamental for these issues, especially the captains, the most experienced players.
“Nowadays there are South American players in the big clubs everywhere, and they have great relationships amongst each other. To give an example: when there was the issue of the pandemic [they were discussing whether or not to play in the Copa America], they were constantly talking and reaching agreements among themselves.
“They have to know that, if they are well, the show is going to be better; if they are not well, if they are tired, if they are overloaded with games, the show is what it is. But communication is key, and everyone should know that, despite the fact that it is a show and that everyone wants more games to be played, it is also important that the players recover and that they are well.”
The article on FIFPro states that Argentina goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli left Ajax on May 28 and flew just under 11,500 km from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires to be with his family and days later flew almost 20,000 km to China for to be with the Argentina national team.
