"Off the pitch I don't speak to him" - 23-year-old Argentina star on his relationship with Lionel Messi and hopes for 2022 FIFA World Cup
Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister recently spoke about his relationship with his captain Lionel Messi ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar this month.
The Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder has earned seven caps with La Albiceleste and has been named in their 26-man squad for the Qatar showpiece. In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Mac Allister named teams like Brazil as one of the strong teams in the tournament. He said:
"I think Brazil is a very strong national team, France and England has some very good players, but there are a lot of very good teams. It will be a very hard World Cup, and I don't think we are favourites, but it will be hard for everyone."
The midfielder also spoke about playing and sharing the dressing room with Messi at Argentina:
"To play with Messi is a dream. It was amazing the first time. To be honest, off the pitch, I don't speak too much with him because I'm a very shy guy, and I don't want to bother him. He's really nice, quiet; he has good relations with everyone there, so it's amazing to have him, that he's Argentinian, and hopefully it will not be his last World Cup."
The Argentine midfielder joined Brighton from Argentinos Jrs. in January 2019 and spent six months on loan at the club and a season at Boca Juniors. Since making his Brighton debut in 2020, Mac Allister has played 85 games and contributed 12 goals and six assists.
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni suggests this might not be Lionel Messi's last FIFA World Cup
Messi, 35, had earlier hinted that the upcoming tournament in Qatar could be his last FIFA World Cup.
However, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni is hopeful that the Paris Saint-Germain man will continue for a while. In an interview with CNN Radio Argentina, he said (via GOAL):
"It may be the last, but hopefully not. He is happy on the field, and he makes a lot of people happy. If we take care of him and carry him as we have to, there could possibly be more games for him because the world of football asks for it."
Messi has been in prolific form this season in club football, registering 12 goals and 14 assists in 18 games across competitions. He led La Albiceleste to the final of the 2014 World Cup and will hope to go one better this time.