Lionel Messi: How Record Ballon d’Or Winner Got Stuck in First Team Talk As Captain

• Lionel Messi was short of words in his first team talk as Argentina's captain
• Diego Maradona was the first manager to give him the armband in 2010
• His former teammate, Juan Veron, has explained how the situation unravelled

A former teammate of Lionel Messi has lifted the lid on how the revered footballer performed in his first team talk as captain.

Messi has now grown accustomed to captaining the sides he plays for, but his first talk ended in a disaster with no one helping him.

The Argentine star was first given the armband by fellow legend Diego Maradona during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Maradona opted to rest his leaders, Gabriel Heinze and Javier Mascherano, for their final group game against Greece.

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How Messi did in first team talk as captain

Juan Veron, who started alongside Messi in that game, disclosed that the Barcelona forward was out of sorts about what to say before they headed out to the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.

"He got stuck at some point. It's normal. It's difficult to speak in front of a group, especially in that situation. We didn't help him, but it turned out well," said the former Chelsea midfielder on Clank!

Messi lasted the entire 90 minutes of that match, leading his side to a 2-0 win. Martin Demichelis scored the opening goal before Messi set up Martin Palermi in the 89th minute.

He, however, had to wait for five more years before he became the first captain following the departure of Andreas Iniesta.

After the 2010 World Cup, where they crashed out to Germany in the quarter-finals, Messi was made official captain of the national side a year later. His first major success came in 2021 when he won the Copa America before completing football by winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as captured on Transfermarkt.

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Kim Kardashian's love for Messi

Sports Brief has also reported that Kim Kardashian has professed her love for Messi.

The American influencer has attended a couple of Messi's games since the former Barcelona star joined Inter Miami in 2023.

Her son, Saint West, has previously walked out with Messi ahead of their game against LA Galaxy in February.