Luis Suárez reveals: “I text Messi and insult him after matches”

Luis Suárez gave several interviews to outlets such as Mundo Deportivo and El País, as well as radio shows like El Larguero on the eve of Spain vs. Uruguay. The Uruguayan striker spoke at length about the outstanding level Leo Messi has shown in the early World Cup matches. The Inter Miami forward was not surprised by his self-demand, as he knows the Argentine well, both personally and professionally.

“I text him and insult him after matches. I tell him: ‘Enough!’ There are no words, no way to congratulate him that can define him. You just have to applaud and enjoy him, as a fan of the game. You just turn on the TV—every match surprises you. I’m happy to see him happy and enjoying his World Cup. He doesn’t need to prove anything, but he’s so competitive that he wants to keep being the best,” he said.

“The easiest thing would have been to leave it in 2022, because doing it again was very difficult. But there he is—with his character, his national team, his teammates around him, a coach who understands him, and people who love him all over the world,” he added.

“I know how well he prepared for this World Cup”

“I’ve been training with him here for a while now, and I know how well he prepared for this World Cup. A lot of people speculated, thinking he was getting old. But Leo still has that hunger to keep being the best, to keep competing. The other day was just another example of his mental strength. He missed a penalty after four or five minutes and then kept pushing, pushing. Imagine if he had lost heart and all of Argentina had collapsed—that would have shown weakness. But he proved he can bounce back, keep going, and he ended up scoring two goals,” he explained.

“He knows when to go all in and when to hold back”

“It’s also about the team’s attitude, how they play, understanding them, knowing them. Leo doesn’t need to run all match. Football is very focused on running, on stats about who covers the most distance, but sometimes the mind works a thousand times faster than the player who runs the most,” he said.

“Above all, he’s very intelligent. He knows when to go all in and when to hold back. What defines him is his constant desire to improve. I’m sure he didn’t set out thinking, ‘I’m going to be top scorer.’ No—it just happened, and the opportunity came,” he added.

A competitive beast

Luis Suárez revealed that Leo Messi remains a competitive beast, which keeps him performing despite being 39 years old. “Leo has the desire to keep playing and competing. A lot of people ask us why we still get angry in training. Because that’s who we are—that’s how we’ve competed since we were kids. And it will stay that way until we retire,” he said.

“For us, it would be easy to come here to Miami—easy for all of us—to say: ‘I’ll take it easy, go to the beach, not train, not do anything, just play.’ And you can tell. What you’re really seeing now is his professionalism, and the professionalism of all the players who play in the United States and are now competing in the World Cup,” he concluded.

Click here to read article