November 17th 2023.
Lionel Messi was not pleased with Uruguayan player Manuel Ugarte's conduct in their win over Argentina. After Ugarte made a lewd gesture towards Rodrigo De Paul during the match, Messi urged him to show more respect for his elders.
"I prefer not to say what I think about some gestures," Messi said. "Young people have to learn to respect their elders. Argentina-Uruguay has always been a tough classic, but it needs to be done with respect. They have to learn a little."
Messi also praised Uruguay and their transformation under Marcelo Bielsa, which has put them second in the South American World Cup qualifying table behind Argentina.
"You can see Bielsa's hand on the way Uruguay is playing. His style is very recognisable in all the national teams or clubs, including Argentina. He has a good generation of players," said Messi.
The Argentina captain went on to explain why Uruguay were so difficult to play against.
"They are an intense team and it was difficult for us to play our game. They have physical and fast players in the midfield. We never felt comfortable and we didn't find a way to possess the ball for a long period of time. So the game was played on a fast pace and we fall for that style, which isn't the best for us," he said.
"We never felt comfortable in this match. Uruguay are a physical team, they have good teamwork. It is always like that against them."
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