Former Spain manager Luis Enrique has once again revealed that he wants Lionel Messi to win the FIFA World Cup. The former Barcelona coach made similar claims ahead of the tournament in Qatar, but that was only if his side failed to get their hands on the trophy.
Spain exited the FIFA World Cup in the Round of 16 after they were beaten by Morocco in the penalty shootout. Messi’s Argentina are in the semifinals and they face Croatia on Tuesday night.
Speaking on Twitch, Enrique once again backed his former player, Messi, to win the trophy this year. He claimed that it would be worth it as he meant a lot to the game. he said:
“I would like Leo Messi to win the World Cup, because of what he means to football.”
Ahead of the FIFA World Cup, Enrique was on his Twitch channel when he claimed he wanted Messi to lift the trophy if it was not for his side, Spain. He said:
“If Spain doesn’t win the World Cup, I would like Argentina to win it because of Messi. It would be unfair for Messi to retire without winning a World Cup.”
However, he admitted that neither Spain nor Argentina were favorites in the tournament. He backed Brazil and England, both of whom have exited the FIFA World Cup, and defending champions France as the ones to make it to the final. He said:
“Whenever we talk about candidates, we always talk about the same teams. If I have to put some above others I think Brazil, France and England are a little bit above the rest. But the World Cup is so difficult and so complicated that anything can happen. We are very excited. We have a very nice group that is very eager, but we think about going little by little.”
Luis Enrique had ‘tension’ with Lionel Messi at Barcelona
Luis Enrique has previously admitted that he had issues with Lionel Messi during his time at Barcelona. However, the Spaniard claimed that he had put things behind him and had only good things to say about the Argentine star.
He told Catalunya Radio:
“Until the issue was resolved there was a period of tension. Which I was not looking for in any way, but which happened and needed to be managed. But today I can only say good things about Leo Messi.”
Barcelona are trying to re-sign Lionel Messi from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) next summer.