According to the legend Zinedine Zidane, “magic” is the only word that can be used to describe Lionel Messi’s style of play.
Zidane and Messi had a conversation during a closed interview conducted by Adidas. Here, the two football legends shared their thoughts about each other. When asked to describe the other person in three words, Zidane believed only the word “magic” was needed to characterize Messi.
“Messi and I don’t spend every day together. So today is an important occasion for me to express how much I admire him,” Zidane shared. “I think what Messi produces is pure magic. Magic in perception. Before receiving the ball, he already knows what to do. For me, someone who understands football, watching him play on the field, I almost know what he will do. It’s like there’s a connecting thread. Every time I watch Messi play, it’s like: ‘I know exactly.'”
While Messi spent 21 years dedicated to Barcelona, Zidane is considered an icon of the rival club Real Madrid, where he played and coached. Despite that, both have great respect for each other. Zidane even expressed a wish to play alongside Messi. Although highly praised, Messi believes he is still below Diego Maradona.
Zidane once faced Messi on the field in 2005 in his player career. At that time, Real lost to Barca 0-3 in La Liga, with Messi contributing an assist. As the coach of Real in two stints (2016-2018 and 2019-2021), Zidane also faced Messi multiple times.
In this conversation, Messi and Zidane also regret that Messi did not receive the number 10 shirt at PSG. The Argentine captain joined Parc de Princes in the summer of 2021 and wore the number 30 since the number 10 belonged to Neymar. Zidane believes Messi not wearing the number 10 is a shortcoming.
The French coach also asked Messi about the most important goal of his career. “Is it the recent World Cup 2022 final goal against France?” Zidane said.
In response, Messi reminded Zidane that he had done something similar: the former French star scored twice in the World Cup finals in 1998 and 2006. Messi suggested that both share their emotions about these goals.
Detailed information about the interview has not been fully disclosed.
