Moment in history… Paredes praises the Argentine captain
Paredes makes “grandiose” statements about Messi: “I will remember this for the rest of my life”
Lionel Messi has now won everything in his career after Argentina’s victory in the World Cup. La Pulga was practically the happiest at the final whistle against France. When Gonzalo Montiel converted the last penalty kick, Messi couldn’t believe it, according to Leandro Paredes.
Leandro Paredes gave an interview to TV Publica. During the interview, the former PSG midfielder talked about Lionel Messi. The player who also played for Juventus revealed Messi’s first words after the triumph at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. And for Paredes, he will never forget it.
“The embrace with Messi after Gonzalo Montiel’s goal will always remain in my memory. I will remember it for the rest of my life. I turned around, saw him kneeling, and I was the first to hug him after winning the World Cup. He kept saying, ‘Thank you, thank you, I love you’,” Paredes said.
“Every time I watch the video, I feel strong emotions because I’m almost in tears shouting, ‘We are world champions! We are world champions!'” Paredes added on TV Publica.
After Messi, Paredes thanks Emiliano Martinez
Argentina probably wouldn’t be world champions without the spectacular and decisive saves from Emiliano Martinez. The Aston Villa goalkeeper denied Kolo Muani in the final minute of stoppage time with a great save. Martinez also performed brilliantly during the penalty shootout. This is something Paredes will probably never forget. Like Messi, Martinez was the hero of the Albiceleste.
“It’s incredible how everything unfolded. We played well, created many chances, but in the end, we were saved by Martinez. I was ten meters away from the incident, and I thought [Kolo Muani] was going to score, it was difficult not to. Only Emiliano could have saved us, and he did it at his best,” Paredes said.
“We are grateful to him because he helped us win everything. He was very important in the Copa America, the qualifiers, and the World Cup. He’s always in a good mood, he finds ways to succeed. He is very important for the team,” Leandro Paredes concluded, expressing his admiration for Lionel Messi.
