Messi on Paredes’ Boca return: Made a big impact, steadied team | OneFootball

Leandro Paredes «gave Boca a big change». The phrase is already common in the halls of La Bombonera, among the fans and in the sports world outside of Xeneize, but if those words are spoken by Lionel Messi, they take on a different color. The captain of the Argentine National Team evaluated the return of his «friend» to Xeneize, mentioned that he follows him closely, and did nothing but lavish praise on how he transformed and «organized the team».

«Boca became very strong, especially at home, and a big part of all this is because of him: for the play he provides, he knew how to organize the team on the field», analyzed the Pulga, in a conversation with ESPN, considering the streak of six consecutive victories under Claudio Úbeda.

Besides that major influence of Paredes on the field, being the master of Boca's play, an aspect that Messi himself highlighted, because «I have talked about it with him», is the value he brought to the club he loves «at the group level». «They get along very well and that is also noticeable. In tough times, it's also important to be like that», added the best player in the world.

It is seen day by day at Boca Predio, but also beyond the walls surrounding the Ezeiza training center: the midfielder himself revealed that he gathers the group once a week at his house to have barbecues and foster unity among his teammates, precisely an aspect that has been praised repeatedly by Exequiel Zeballos, Agustín Marchesín, and Ayrton Costa -among others-.

«The truth is I'm happy, because he is a friend, I care about him a lot, I shared a team with him. I know he really wanted to return to Boca; and that things are going well for him, even better», Messi concluded, in relation to Paredes and his return to Argentine football after years in the Old Continent, where they even shared the field at PSG.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.