“Criticism of Messi is not fair”

Lionel Messi is sometimes criticized for his achievements in the Albiceleste. For Diego Simeone, coach of Atletico Madrid, this is incomprehensible, as he now reveals.

Coach Diego Simeone of Spanish first division team Atletico Madrid has defended his Argentinian compatriot Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona against his opponents. “The criticism of Messi is not fair, not at all, especially in Argentina,”

In particular, the 48-year-old is disturbed by the fact that Messis’ performances in the national team are often seen in direct comparison with his performances at Barca.

“In Barcelona, he has a team of players around him to support him. Argentina doesn’t have such players. Cristiano Ronaldo has the same problem with Portugal. Portugal is not Juventus or Real Madrid,” explained Simeone.

And continues: “Everyone has their own opinion, I respect that. Messi was close to winning the World Cup, but unfortunately he didn’t make it. Some criticize him all the time, but Messi is extraordinary. How many times did he win the Ballon d’Or? How many goals did he score? How many times has he led Barca to victory? I’m sure it wouldn’t have gone this way without him.”

Messi has played 129 internationals for Argentina so far, scoring 65 goals. For Barca, Messi scored 597 times in 679 games.