There was some controversy heading into this international break between Paris Saint-Germain and the Argentina national concerning the call-up of Lionel Messi.
Messi has dealt with a hamstring injury resulting in the 34-year-old missing PSG’s last two matches before the FIFA break, including their UEFA Champions League fixture against RB Leipzig.
As a result, the French giants shared their objection to Messi heading to South America for these World Cup Qualifying matches. Nonetheless, it appears as though both parties reached a truce regarding the Argentine forward’s minutes.
“We decided that [Messi] should not start because he came from inactivity and because the game was going to be a game like the one that took place. Going into the second half, so that he can pick up pace thinking about Brazil,” Scaloni said to the media, where Marca relayed his comments.
Argentina didn’t need Messi for most of the match against Uruguay as they left Montevideo with all three points. The 34-year-old only played 14 minutes, which is an amount that should satisfy PSG.
In their last game during this international window, Lionel Scaloni’s squad will welcome Brazil. With the opposition already qualified for the World Cup, it doesn’t seem necessary to play Messi all 90 minutes, so perhaps the PSG man will play another 14-minute appearance.