Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is one of the most admired soccer players in the world. Some fans consider him to be the best. And also, the Argentine enjoys the recognition of his colleagues. In that sense, one of those who confessed his admiration for the Barça star was Néstor Ortigoza.

But the detail is that the Paraguayan made his astonishment known to Lionel Messi during the match. And he confessed what he said to the current Barcelona star. "So, in one play, the game stopped, I think they were attending to someone, and I was standing next to him," said the midfielder.

"The truth is that you're not pretending, you're really good, how you play, you son of a bitch (Argentine expression)!" Néstor Ortigoza recounted in a recent interview with "La Nación". Lionel Messi's response was immediate, with a "Thank you" and a smile.

The anecdote told by Néstor Ortigoza took place during the match between Argentina and Paraguay in the last Copa América held in Chile, which ended in a 2-2 draw. One of Argentina's goals was scored by Lio.

"In the 2-2, we couldn't stop the guy. And mind you, Paraguayans are tough, firm, but Lionel Messi managed to put his foot between 4 or 5 rival legs and we couldn't stop him! We bumped into each other, we hit each other," added Néstor Ortigoza, currently at San Lorenzo de Almagro.