Former Portugal international Deco has said that Argentina would not have won the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar without Lionel Messi’s presence.
Argentina were successful for the third time as Deco’s former teammate at Barcelona, Messi captained La Albiceleste to lift the trophy.
Having fallen to a 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in their first game at the tournament, Messi and Co turned things around and won every game afterwards.
Argentina defeated France on penalties in the final following a pulsating 3-3 draw after extra time.
Lionel Messi was voted the Most Valuable Player of the tournament and went home with the Golden Ball after scoring seven goals and providing three assists.
Meanwhile, Deco’s country, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Morocco.
Deco, who made 75 appearances for A Selecao, has said that while Portugal have many good players, they don’t have Lionel Messi.
In an interview with Argentine outlet TR Sports, he said, “Argentina won the World Cup because they have Messi. For us, Portugal had the best generation of good players, but we don’t have Messi.”
Ronaldo scored just one goal in five games and started on the bench in the two knockout games.