{"id":15069,"date":"2026-01-07T08:35:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T08:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/?p=15069"},"modified":"2026-01-07T08:35:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T08:35:24","slug":"the-goat-unplugged-messis-candid-sit-down-on-luzu-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/the-goat-unplugged-messis-candid-sit-down-on-luzu-tv","title":{"rendered":"The GOAT Unplugged: Messi\u2019s Candid Sit-Down on Luzu TV"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While the world watches Lionel Messi<\/a> lift trophies and shatter records, the man behind the legendary number 10 jersey remains surprisingly grounded\u2014and deeply human. In a series of candid reflections, Messi opened up about the transition of the Argentina National Team<\/a> and his personal struggles with leadership and fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“After the 2018 World Cup a whole generation ended and a new era began with lots of young players who loved me,” Messi noted.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He credited Rodrigo De Paul<\/a> for bridging the gap between the old guard and the new. “De Paul, I always tell him he\u2019s very similar to Pocho Lavezzi… he was the one who broke that barrier. He made things more natural inside the group, helped us all gain confidence and loosen up.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SANTIAGO
(Photo by Juan Mabromata – Pool\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Surprisingly, the man considered the greatest of all time felt like the outsider. “In that case I was actually the \u2018new one\u2019, the one who had to adapt to them, and De Paul helped me a lot because he made that adaptation easier for all of us.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Leadership Philosophy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Messi\u2019s leadership style has never been about locker room speeches. “My leadership has always been more through actions than words… showing it on the pitch and in training, always giving my maximum in everything. With time you gain experience and culture… but at the start it was always about leading by example.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quick Stats: The Messi Influence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Category<\/strong><\/td>Impact\/Preference<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead>
Communication Style<\/strong><\/td>Prefers actions over words; avoids texting.<\/td><\/tr>
Favorite Drink<\/strong><\/td>“I like wine. Wine and Sprite, so that it hits fast.”<\/td><\/tr>
Tech Habits<\/strong><\/td>“I don\u2019t use ChatGPT… Antonela is on it all day, but I haven\u2019t got into that world.”<\/td><\/tr>
Criticism<\/strong><\/td>“I\u2019m my own first critic. I\u2019ve INSULTED myself a lot in my head.”<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Life in Miami & Looking Back<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Transitioning to Inter Miami<\/a> wasn’t just a career move for Messi; it was a lifestyle choice. “Here in Miami I can live much more calmly… People live differently here, and many don\u2019t give football that much importance.”<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"MONACO,
(Photo by Harold Cunningham – UEFA\/UEFA via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

However, the journey to the top was paved with hardship. Reflecting on his departure from Newell’s Old Boys<\/a>, Messi recalled the struggle to pay for his growth hormone treatments. “I started the treatment when I was 11. It was a very expensive treatment… My mom had to cross Rosario to get the money Newell\u2019s had promised us and many times they gave her only 5 pesos.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That struggle eventually led him to the FC Barcelona<\/a> academy, changing the course of football history forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Barcelona's
(Photo credit should read JAVIER SORIANO\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Mental Game<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Despite his god-like status on the pitch, Messi admitted to the same mental blocks we all face. “What I like least about myself is that when I get into a bad place mentally, I block myself and it\u2019s hard for me to get out of it… Any silly thing can change my mood.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also shared a relatable human trait: the need for solitude. “Sometimes the chaos at home with the three kids running all over the place ends up saturating me, and I need my moments of loneliness. I can be just lying down watching TV… Nothing special, just being quiet.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I know I\u2019m a bit weird than most people in some things… I like being alone a lot.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"LUSAIL
(Photo by Elsa\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While the world watches Lionel Messi lift trophies and shatter records, the man behind the legendary number 10 jersey remains surprisingly grounded\u2014and deeply human. In a series of candid reflections, Messi opened up about the transition of the Argentina National Team and his personal struggles with leadership and fame. “After the 2018 World Cup a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":15073,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_canonical_url":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"Messi","rank_math_facebook_image":"","rank_math_robots":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,893],"tags":[2772,1126,146,162,1345,159,96,60,108],"content-tags":[],"article_type":[3329,3332],"entity_type":[3333],"inspiration":[3337],"class_list":["post-15069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-world-cup","tag-argentina-national-team","tag-champions-league","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-inter-miami","tag-lionel-messi","tag-mls","tag-psg","tag-soccer","article_type-news","article_type-seo","entity_type-athlete","inspiration-365s-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15069"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15075,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15069\/revisions\/15075"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15069"},{"taxonomy":"content-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-tags?post=15069"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=15069"},{"taxonomy":"entity_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity_type?post=15069"},{"taxonomy":"inspiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inspiration?post=15069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}