Two greats and mutual admiration. Messi and Zidane in the same room. The Frenchman regrets not playing with the Argentine, at least he allowed himself a pass

Two legends in one room, two great footballers who rank among the best in the history of the sport. Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane were able to have a long conversation with the cooperation of Adidas. Both expressed their deep respect for each other.

They had been rivals for several years, but as players they had hardly played against each other. In fact, only the 2005 El Clásico is worth mentioning. Zinedine Zidane played for Real Madrid from 2001 to 2006, Lionel Messi first peeked into the Barcelona A-team in 2004.

The French legend, however, led Los Blancos as coach from 2016 to 2018 and 2019 to 2021. Zidane was therefore tasked with preparing his charges for the Argentine idol. However, he would have loved to be in a different position.

They both won the World Cup. Zidane has won one Ballon d’Or, Messi has won eight. Both are among the finest footballers ever to run on green grass. Now they’re in the same room having a long conversation.

Messi and Zidane both showed they are big personalities. They expressed respect for each other and enjoyed their time together to the max.

Messi admitted admiration, Zidane regret

Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane met thanks to Adidas. The Frenchman admitted regret that he never played with the Argentine idol in the same team. Therefore, he enjoyed at least being able to pass him the ball at close range just on the occasion of a joint conversation in the same room.

“Today is an important day for me. I can only say how much I admire Lionel. His game is pure magic,” Zidane allowed himself to be heard. “I have always admired and liked Zinedine. I watched him a lot when he played for Real Madrid. Plus, he troubled me a lot because I played for Barcelona,” Messi returned the praise.

Both also praised the feeling of scoring a goal in the World Cup final. Zidane, moreover, praised the Argentine’s qualities even above his own: “I saw things before other players. I was a second ahead of them. But Leo is three seconds ahead of everyone.”

Messi spoke in passing about Diego Maradona, whom he looked up to as a child. “We all wanted to be like him, but nobody was able to do it. Our dream was to emulate what Diego did.”

Source: Daily Mail, Transfermarkt