‘He reminds me of Lavezzi’ – Messi thanks Argentina midfielder for assistance

Argentine captain, Lionel Messi has hailed Rodrigo De Paul for helping him bond with his national teammates.

Messi said that De Paul’s personality reminded him of former Paris Saint-Germain winger Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Messi and De Paul are widely known to be best friends.

De Paul, who currently plays for Atletico Madrid, is often seen around the Inter Miami captain at training and while traveling to international matches to represent Argentina.

Speaking on the Clank podcast (via Roy Nemer on X), Messi said:

“It is very difficult to get into the groups, also because of the way I am.

“Rodrigo [De Paul] helped me a lot. He reminded me a lot of Pocho [Ezequiel Lavezzi].”