Real Madrid and France legend Zinedine Zidane has expressed his desire to have played alongside Lionel Messi during their careers.
A rare sit-down conversation between Zidane and Messi was arranged by Adidas, where they opened up about their shared admiration and the regret of never having the opportunity to play together on the same team.
Despite being among the most celebrated footballers of their respective generations, the two icons only faced each other once in a competitive match back in 2005.
Messi grabbed an assist on the day, in Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Real Madrid, and left an indelible mark on the Frenchman.
Zidane, who is favourite to become the next Manchester United manager, lamented the missed opportunity, saying, “It’s a pity that we couldn’t play together. This is the moment for me to pass you the ball. Today is a very important day for me because I can tell him how much I admire him. I think he is magic, pure magic.”
Zidane talking about how much he admires Messi 🇦🇷🇫🇷❤️ pic.twitter.com/JlubmOmVrn
— R (@Lionel30i) November 9, 2023
In response, Messi returned the praise, saying, “I have always admired him and liked him a lot. I followed him a lot in Madrid. And he made me suffer a lot too because I was from Barcelona!”
The two struck up an interesting discussion covering a wide range of subjects. They talked about the feeling of scoring a goal for their nation in the World Cup final. They also touched upon the kind of respect the Argentine has for the late great Diego Maradona, as well as the lack of number tens in world football at the moment.
On Friday, Messi will be involved with Inter Miami when they play New York City in the Noche d’Or friendly, a celebration of Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or win.
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