“When he comes to the national team, he has to change” - Paredes on how Lionel Messi’s teammates treat Cristiano Ronaldo fan Alejandro Garnacho
Leandro Paredes has spoken about Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho's love for Cristiano Ronaldo and how the Argentine team deals with it while on national duty.
Garnacho, who progressed through the youth ranks at Manchester United, has represented Argentina at the senior level as well. As a result, he has played with both Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, two of the greatest players of the modern era.
Given the rivalry between the two legends, fans often wonder about Garnacho's position in the equation. His national teammate Paredes recently spoke about how the Argentine team looks at the situation as a whole.
"We joked about it with him. He is very shy and does not answer. Poor guy, we drove him crazy. We also talked to him about what the group is, somehow we try to make them feel part of it and feel comfortable. Although in this case he got very nervous and couldn't talk," he said (via DSports).
Paredes also expertly answered that while Ronaldo remains Garnacho's idol, the youngster also respects Messi.
"But as he said, I think he is his idol, he always followed him a lot and he plays quite similar. So it's normal, nothing happens. Obviously, when he comes to the national team he has to change a little bit because there is ours," he added.
Garnacho recently won the Premier League Goal of the Month award for November for his stunning bicycle kick effort against Everton.
Alejandro Garnacho criticized by Paul Scholes after Manchester United's 1-0 loss against Bayern Munich
Manchester United lost 1-0 against Munich on Tuesday night, a result which sealed their exit from all European competitions for the season.
Speaking after the match, Scholes analyzed that United are unable to create chances for their young forward Rasmus Hojlund because the wingers are 'selfish'.
The former Manchester United captain told TNT Sports (via United in Focus):
“You expect creativity from your wide players, Antony and Garnacho, but they are quite selfish players. They are not players who are looking up, they’re thinking about scoring their own goals, thinking about scoring themselves."
Garnacho has registered three goals and one assist in 22 games for the Red Devils this season.