In recent weeks, Leonardo Balerdi has been in distress at Olympique de Marseille. Facing Paris Saint-Germain on October 27 and AJ Auxerre last week, the 25-year-old defender experienced two nightmarish evenings at the Vélodrome stadium.
However, these poor performances did not prevent him from being summoned by Lionel Scaloni for the last gathering of the Argentine selection. Indeed, the Albiceleste will play two qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup, against Paraguay and Peru, on the night of Thursday to Friday and that of Wednesday to next Thursday.
Balerdi, his solid gold advisor
The former Borussia Dortmund player can even count on Lionel Messi to give him some advice. “He asks me to be calm and play the same way as at club. That’s the key. And then obviously, you have to adapt to your opponent. It depends on the opponent and the training, but he always asks you to be 100% and try to play the same way as at club so that you can establish yourself here permanently”he confided during an interview given to BeIN Sports.
During training with his national team teammates, the OM player stood out by scoring a splendid goal. On a cross from… Lionel Messi, he did a nice acrobatic return to send the ball into the back of the net.
