WHY DON’T YOU JUST STAY HERE EH, LEO?
LEO PUTS TEAMWORK FIRST
LIONEL MESSI turned up at Manchester City wearing blue and white – although it was the colours of Argentina rather than those of Pep Guardiola’s side.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is in town for Friday’s friendly against Italy at the Etihad Stadium, which is set to draw a huge crowd.
Argentina trained in the morning at the City Football Academy, and had an extra session in the afternoon following the late arrival of the Barcelona superstar.
Messi, linked with a move to City before signing a deal in November to stay on at the Nou Camp until 2021, will train with his teammates today and tomorrow.
The 30-year-old, who scored his 100th Champions League goal last week in the 3-0 last-16 win over Chelsea, revealed how his game has evolved in recent years.
“It’s not about scoring always,” said the man with 542 goals in 626 appearances for Barca and 61 for Argentina. “You don’t have to score to play brilliantly. Sometimes I’ve scored and played really badly. “The goals are what count, but it’s not all about that. Obviously you grow and you learn things out on the field. “Before I used to try to play my way, play my game. Now I think I try to play more of a team game. I don’t want to be so decisive or ‘selfish’ around the edge of the box. If I’ve a better option I’ll look for it and try to move the team when they’re in different positions. But I think I run as much as I’ve always done, but in a different way.”
Argentina are one of the favourites to win the World Cup in Russia and Messi is desperate to atone for the agony of losing 1-0 to Germany in the final in Brazil.
“Let’s hope it’s a great World Cup for us and we can do something similar to 2014, which was an unforgettable experience, not just for us, but for the whole country,” he said.
“The way in which we experienced that World Cup, we were close, we were in every game and let’s hope we can do something similar, but this time let’s hope we can lift up the trophy.”
City’s Argentina striker Sergio Aguero appeared alongside Messi yesterday but is set to miss the game against Italy through injury.