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Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister suggested with the ultimate Argentina honour as Lionel Messi retires
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Photo by Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar Via Getty Images
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Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images
Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images
On the domestic scene, Mac Allister wears the number ten shirt for Liverpool, but he dons number 20 on the international stage because of Messi.
But now that Messi has retired from Argentina duty, it was suggested by one of his nation’s biggest media outlets, TyC Sports, that it’s Mac Allister who should take his number.
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Alexis Mac Allister to wear Lionel Messi’s number ten shirt for Argentina?
Whoever does take Messi’s number ten shirt, and there is no suggestion the number will be retired, will have the greatest honour but also the biggest of pressures.
Not only did Messi wear number ten, but so did a player perhaps much greater than him, the late iconic figure, Diego Armando Maradona.
While it is inspirational to follow in those players’ footsteps, it’s also incredibly nerve-racking, and Mac Allister could be the next man to wear that famous number.
For Messi’s farewell match, which Argentina won 3-0 against Benin, TyC Sports handed every player in blue and white a 10/10 for their performance.
Before their summary and analysis of Mac Allister was rather interesting, including details about his ‘close relationship’ with Messi.
It could be argued that Mac Allister and Como’s rising star Nico Paz are the ones in line to take that number.
Either way, Mac Allister was rightfully lauded for being a ‘key figure’ in helping Messi on the international stage, which included lifting the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar.
“Don’t call him Colorado anymore; he doesn’t like it,” Messi said one day, and no one ever called him that again,’ wrote TyC Sports.
“Just as we mentioned earlier that there were footballers who helped Messi on the national team, it was undoubtedly a reciprocal relationship: Mac Allister’s career was certainly enhanced by his close relationship and partnership with Messi on the field.
“To the point that – and this is just my personal opinion – I think the number ten jersey should be inherited by the Liverpool player, a key figure in that unforgettable second goal against France in the final.”