
Lionel Messi has explained why he will not be playing against the Super Eagles in an international friendly on Tuesday.
Messi’s Argentina face Nigeria in an international friendly in Krasnodar, Russia, but without the Barcelona superstar, who will be missing the clash with the Super Eagles.
The former world player of the year has revealed that Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli decided to give him a rest and he will not take part in the upcoming friendly against Nigeria.
”Sampaoli decided to rest me a little bit and not play the game against Nigeria,” Messi said after the friendly against Russia, according to El Grafico.
”We want to get the best way to the World Cup. It’s good to win to continue correcting and improving things, we have to reinforce the game system that Sampaoli wants, we must make the most of the time together.
”It is a reality that in the selection there is little time and we have to make the most of it when we are together, reinforce what the coach wants, try to carry out the practices.”
Messi played the entirety of Argentina’s 1-0 win over Russia at Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow on Saturday afternoon.
