Benzema “was fundamental from the round of 16 (C1) by being decisive in all the matches. This year, there is no doubt for me”, adds the Paris Saint-Germain player in this interview.
The Argentinian spoke a few days before the “Finalissima” which will pit Argentina, winner of the last Copa America, against Italy, European champions last summer but not qualified for the next World Cup in Qatar. “She was unlucky,” he said.
For Messi, “It’s madness that Italy won the Euro and can’t participate in the World Cup”. It is “one of the greatest teams in the history of the World Cup” and it would have “been one of the favorites for the Qatari World Cup, no one would have wanted to cross it”, he adds.
Asked about his adaptation to Paris SG and French football, Messi evokes in this interview “a difficult change” and confides that his sons “came back crying” from their first day at their school in Paris. Then they adapted because “they are phenomena”, he adds.
Affected this winter by the Covid-19, Messi says he is convinced that he still has “sequelae in the lungs”. He also had a very bad experience of the elimination of the C1 by Real Madrid, which gave him “a big blow”.
The Ballon d’Or will be awarded on October 17, following a vote by journalists in the top hundred countries in the Fifa rankings, according to one of the changes made to the ballot. And only performances from the 2021/22 season will be taken into account.