Rodri hails Messi as ‘the best player of all time’ ahead of World Cup final | OneFootball

Rodri says he is relishing coming up against “the best player of all time” Lionel Messi in the World Cup final.

Spain face Argentina on Sunday with midfielder Rodri and his side looking to deny Argentina back-to-back World Cup titles.

But while the Manchester City man says stopping Messi will be key, he says Spain cannot pay too much attention to the 39-year-old.

“For me, he is the best player of all time, and he is a player who is capable of leading his national team and bringing them to Qatar to win the World Cup, and in this case, to the final,” Rodri said.

“But I think Argentina is much more than Messi. I think they have shown themselves to be a very complete team with very high-level players, and today, honestly, I think we are the two teams that play best collectively, so to speak. So, obviously we will have to take Leo into account, but also many others.”

Argentina again demonstrated their resilience by coming from behind to beat England – but Rodri says his side are prepared for the challenge.

“That obviously speaks of a very competitive character that national team has, of knowing how to overcome adverse situations. And it speaks of personality, and we take that into account, the type of team they are.

“We will try to hurt them in the way I believe we can hurt them. And the match can go through many circumstances, but as I told your colleague, you have to go for the match. You have to want to win the World Cup, and you have to be ambitious. And I think it comes down to being ourselves throughout the entire match.”