Idman.biz
Inter Miami's 38-year-old Argentine midfielder Lionel Messi has spoken about the possibility of changing his citizenship early in his career.
Idman.Biz reports that he noted that Spain showed interest in him and tried to persuade him to play for their national team.
"At one point, the Spanish national team contacted me. They tried to convince me otherwise. I am Argentinian, but I came to Barcelona at a very young age. I had the opportunity to play in Spain, but I always wanted to represent Argentina," beIN Sports quoted Messi as saying.
Messi made his debut for the Argentina national team on August 17, 2005, in a match against Hungary. He entered the field in the 64th minute, but was sent off less than a minute later for violently punching an opponent in the throat. Despite his bad start, Messi has played 196 games for the national team and scored 115 goals. As part of the national team, he won the COPA America twice and became the 2022 world champion.
