Rodrigo de Paul has become, in this Argentina squad, what Jose Manuel Pinto once was at Barcelona, or Luis Suarez later became: the team-mate with whom Messi instantly feels at home.
Their bond was forged on international duty. Until then, the midfielder’s only connection to Messi had been asking for a photo after a Valencia–Barcelona match, which he proudly posted on social media.
One afternoon, he noticed Messi leave training alone, looking subdued. Concerned, De Paul waited about 40 minutes before knocking on his door.
“Fancy a mate and a game of truco?”
A friendship began, with its own strict etiquette. Mate, the drink, together every morning in De Paul’s room. In order of arrival, Leo first, then other members of the squad. If they got up too early, they have to wait for the moment to get to De Paul’s room, nobody can jump the routine.
De Paul sometimes calls Messi ‘El Pequeno’ (the little one), even though he is the oldest in the room.
He needles him, treats him like a normal guy rather than a monument, because that is what Messi actually more often than not wants: to be Leo, not Messi. De Paul knows him well enough to sense when to leave him alone, too.
Walking out to the pitch, Messi leads, De Paul at his side, the rest of the squad fanning out behind almost in a wedge – like a street gang protecting its leader.
For many of this group Messi was never simply a team-mate first, he was the childhood idol on television, the reason some of them picked up a ball at all.
The whole squad wears the same boots, the Adidas Adistar Messi. For his birthday in June, the players wore a T-shirt printed with a photo of themselves alongside Leo from some point across his years with the national team.