French former World Cup winner Roberto Pires talked about Albiceleste playmaker Lionel Messi before his country’s crucial tie against Argentina in the Round of 16 phase.
Argentina were handed a lifeline after they scraped past Nigeria with a 2-1 from a difficult Group D. France on the other hand topped Group C and will enter the match on June 30 as the favourites.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Despite having a plethora of star names in the French team, Pires believes they do not have someone like Messi in the team. In some quarters, left-footed striker Antoine Griezmann has been compared to Messi.
Pires however rates Messi very highly and said: France does not have a player like Messi. Only Cristiano Ronaldo is of the same caliber but there is no one else.
“Griezmann is not Messi. The closest to Messi that France had was Zidane,” the former Arsenal and France midfielder added.
Pires, who was influential in Arsenal and the French team reiterated that he really enjoyed watching Messi play.
“When Messi plays, I just want to watch and enjoy.”
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