Former Spain manager Luis Enrique stated that Lionel Messi lifting the trophy would be befitting of the Argentine’s stature in the game.
Spain got off to a fast start in Qatar, thrashing Costa Rica 7-0. But the 2010 champions then lost their next three games and were eliminated on penalties by Morocco in the last 16. It cost Enrique his job, as La Roja replaced him with Luis de la Fuente, their former youth level coach.
Enrique reflected on Spain’s campaign, saying he wished he had left one of his preferred players out of the squad and that he should have used winger Pablo Sarabia more. The Paris Saint-Germain player was only on the field for the final five minutes of Spain’s last-16 loss to Morocco.
“One player, but I won’t say the name. One player didn’t end up being what I thought, and I would have changed him for another player,”
Enrique said, speaking on Spanish streamer Ibai Llanos’ Twitch Stream.
Argentina defeated Croatia to advance to their sixth World Cup final, and the former Barcelona manager now hopes Lionel Messi can finally win what has eluded him thus far.
“I want Messi to win the World Cup, because of what Messi means to football,”
Enrique, who coached Messi between 2014 and 2017, said.
Enrique has previously admitted that he had disagreements with the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner while at Barcelona. However, the Spaniard claimed that he had moved on and had nothing but positive things to say about the Argentine star.
The Catalans are attempting to re-sign Lionel Messi from PSG for the 2023/24 season. However, the Argentina forward has also been linked with a move to Major League Soccer, considering he will turn 36 next year.
