THE LEADER THAT I ADMIRE

The reason why Lionel Messi is a great leader  

Sticking up for Paulo Dybala

Argentina’s Dybala was left in floods of tears after being shown a red card on his first start for his country in 2016.

The Juventus player was shown two yellow cards on the stroke of half-time in a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay.

But Messi made a beeline for the referee when the half-time whistle went to protest Dybala’s dismissal.

source : google

source : google

Dybala later revealed that Messi had offered his support following his sending off.

“Leo Messi told me to be calm, that these things happen, that it was not my fault but the referee’s,” he told Ole, per Sport.

“I felt good, comfortable playing with Messi.”

Encouraging Ousmane Dembele

French forward Ousmane Dembele has never really settled in at Barcelona since his arrival in 2017 and his development has been affected by several injuries.

But Messi has tried to ease his integration into life at the Camp Nou by giving him on-field instructions and support.

In a Champions League clash against Chelsea in March 2018, the Argentinian was seen helping Dembele get into the right positions, and was also the first man to celebrate with the former Dortmund star after he scored.

Giving Philippe Coutinho a penalty vs Sevilla

Messi could be forgiven for trying to score as many goals as possible to add to his incredible tally before he retires but that’s simply not how he plays the game.

Against Sevilla in January 2019, he won a penalty in Barcelona’s Copa del Rey quarter-final second leg against Sevilla and handed the ball to Coutinho.

The Brazilian was suffering from a poor run of form and in need of a goal to boost his confidence.

Messi gave Coutinho the ball and the former Liverpool man dispatched the penalty to put Barcelona 1-0 up.

It was a class gesture.

source : google

Half-time team talk vs Nigeria at 2018 World Cup

Argentina needed to beat Nigeria in their final group game to stand a chance of reaching the knockout stage of the 2018 World Cup finals.

They led 1-0 but the job wasn’t done and Messi delivered a speech in the tunnel at half-time to inspire his players on.

source : google

“Messi came up to us and told us to calm down and not be stressed,” Argentina defender Marcos Rojo later revealed to TyC Sports, per the Daily Mail.

“We felt nervous and that message helped us a lot and gave me personally a huge confidence boost.”

“Messi is our captain and he’s the best captain in the world, it was amazing to score that goal.

source : google

“Messi told everyone that it was either life or death. It could’ve gone badly. We could’ve conceded but Leo was stubborn.

“He told me to run forward. Even [Javier] Mascherano. He told everyone to attack no matter what. He truly read the game and risks.