Inter Miami's Rodrigo De Paul shared his feelings on Lionel Messi's retirement from Argentina national team. Lionel Messi‘s retirement announcement from international soccer sent shockwaves through Argentina following the team’s 2026 World Cup final defeat. As one of Messi’s closest confidants on the pitch in recent years and a current club teammate at Inter Miami, Rodrigo De Paul shared his emotional perspective on the decision. Part of the core group formed during Lionel Scaloni’s managerial roster overhaul, De Paul developed an exceptionally close bond with Messi alongside midfielders Leandro Paredes and Giovani Lo Celso. That relationship influenced De Paul’s career choices, as the midfielder opted to join Inter Miami in July 2025 despite holding competitive offers to remain in Europe. Speaking to MLS media ahead of Inter Miami’s clash with Atlanta United, De Paul reflected on Messi’s announcement while honoring his 21-year international career: “It was very emotional. For us Argentines, we lived with so much excitement having him out on the pitch; it gave us immense pride to see the Argentina jersey all over the world, with him always wearing the number 10 on his back. I think he did so much for the country.“ Processing his personal feelings, De Paul emphasized that Messi still maintains elite performance levels for Inter Miami. “Melancholy above all, but I think we enjoyed it, I particularly enjoyed his journey with our national team. May he be very happy, and let’s keep enjoying him because there’s still time left,” he concluded. Rodrigo De Paul habla del retiro de Leo Messi 🐐🇦🇷 de la Selección Argentina."Hizo un montón por el país", dice De Paul en entrevista con @soyantosports en #LaPreviaDeMLS. pic.twitter.com/DOaYnBuYYM— MLS Español (@MLSes) September 5, 2026 As De Paul highlighted, Messi continues to operate at a high level in Major League Soccer for Inter Miami. Currently leading MLS in both goals (18) and assists (10), the Argentine icon remains under contract with the Herons through December 2028, and his current form during the 2026 MLS campaign demonstrates that his productivity remains elite. For De Paul, the midfielder remains under contract with Inter Miami through December 2029, though his long-term outlook with the club remains closely tied to Messi’s future. While De Paul has not formally addressed his future with the national team, the 32-year-old midfielder would turn 36 during the 2030 World Cup cycle, leaving his status for the next tournament far from guaranteed. Rodrigo De Paul’s trophies with Messi Shortly after Messi published his farewell statement on Instagram, De Paul shared a heartfelt tribute of his own. “Seeing you walk out with the 10 and the captain’s armband in front of us made us feel protected, knowing that whoever we faced, we had someone up front who would give everything for us,” De Paul wrote in his tribute. Remarkably, De Paul’s entire professional trophy collection has been acquired alongside Messi, spanning both international duty and their recent club campaign in South Florida. Prior to joining Inter Miami, De Paul’s club career featured stints with high-profile clubs across Argentina and Europe, including Racing Club, Valencia, Udinese, and Atletico Madrid. However, he went without silverware throughout those European club stops. His breakthrough arrived at the 2021 Copa America, where he helped Argentina capture the title in what also marked Messi’s first major senior trophy with the national team. That victory opened a golden run that included the 2022 Finalissima, the 2022 World Cup, and the 2024 Copa America, alongside a silver medal at the 2026 World Cup following their final loss to Spain. Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul of Argentina look dejected after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) De Paul’s move to Inter Miami in 2025 allowed him to train alongside Messi on a daily basis ahead of the 2026 World Cup. In the process, he claimed the 2025 MLS
Arsenal considered a bid for Chelsea striker Joao Pedro (Picture: Getty) Arsenal put Chelsea striker Joao Pedro on their longlist of possible transfer targets over the summer but decided against making an official move. Mikel Arteta was open to signing a new striker after Viktor Gyokeres’ mixed first season at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners were ready to sanction a huge bid for Julian Alvarez but the Atletico Madrid striker was reluctant to return to the Premier League and had his heart set on a move to Barcelona. Arsenal of course had the chance to make a move for another striker and bosses at the north London club expressed interest in Chelsea’s Pedro. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. The Brazil international enjoyed a promising first season at Stamford Bridge, scoring 20 goals in all competitions, and has netted two goals in four games so far this season. Pedro was less influential in Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday as the Gunners climbed back to the top of the table and ended the Blues’ perfect start to the new season. A number of pundits still view Pedro as one of the best strikers in the Premier League and the 24-year-old has many ‘admirers’ at Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta (Picture: Getty) But Arsenal decided not to move for Pedro as there were ‘concerns’ over how the Brazilian would fit into Arteta’s system at Arsenal, according to BBC Sport. Pedro, who was heavily linked with Barcelona earlier in the summer, views Arsenal defender Gabriel as the ‘toughest’ opponent he has come up against in the Premier League. ‘The toughest defender to play against this season? Top three: Willian Pacho and Jonathan Tah, but Gabriel Magalhaes was the toughest in my opinion,’ the attacker told TNT Sports Brasil back in May. Arsenal wanted to sign Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid (Picture: Getty) ‘I was surprised by his speed, but I gave him a hard time, too! He’s been inspired this season.’ Meanwhile, Michael Owen believes Manchester United should have launched a move for Pedro years ago as he has always been a ‘huge fan’ of the Chelsea star. Asked to name Arsenal’s biggest rival for the Premier League title this season, Owen told The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast: ‘Chelsea. ‘This could be way off the mark but they’ve got no Europe at all and you see how important that has been over the years. It was brilliant for Manchester United last year. ‘This manager [Xabi Alonso] did something similar with an unfancied team in Germany [Bayer Leverkusen], he’s going to change a lot, they’ve bought well. ‘I’m a huge Joao Pedro fan, I think he’s unbelievable. In fact, Manchester United should have bought him about four years ago when he was at Watford. ‘United had nobody up front for years and I thought, “That Joao Pedro”, I love him.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
With his latest goal for Barcelona against Valencia, Raphinha surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo and matched Lionel Messi in an iconic 21st-century La Liga benchmark. Raphinha has emerged as FC Barcelona‘s chief goalscoring threat during the opening stretch of the 2026-27 season, powering the club to the top of the table with staggering efficiency. With his latest strike in a 5-0 victory over Valencia, Raphinha surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo’s best four-match league start while matching Lionel Messi for an iconic 21st-century La Liga benchmark. Barcelona visited Valencia for Matchday 4 with an attacking trident featuring Anthony Gordon and Lamine Yamal on the flanks while Raphinha operated as the central striker. The Brazilian once again found his name on the scoresheet in the 50th minute with Barcelona leading 2-0, turning in an accurate cross from Fermin Lopez to redirect the ball into the back of the net. With that finish, Raphinha reached six goals across the opening four fixtures of the 2026-27 La Liga campaign, scoring in every single match thus far. He becomes just the second Barcelona player in the 21st century to accomplish the feat, joining Lionel Messi in elite company. The Barcelona legend was the first player in modern club history to score six goals through the opening four matches of a La Liga season, accomplishing the feat twice. Messi first reached six goals through four games in 2012-13 by netting three braces despite going scoreless on Matchday 3, before repeating the milestone in 2013-14 with a brace and a hat trick despite missing Matchday 2 through injury. Lionel Messi of Barcelona shoots for score in front of Adil Rami of Valencia. (Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images) Operating outside the mold of a conventional central target man, Raphinha stands as the competition’s premier goalscorer. The Brazilian opened his account with a brace in a 5-0 Matchday 1 win over Elche, scored once in a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao, added another brace in a 5-2 win over Rayo Vallecano, and extended his streak against Valencia. Barcelona sit atop the La Liga standings with a perfect 12 points from four matches, displaying lethal form in front of goal with 17 total team goals while surrendering just two at the defensive end. Cristiano Ronaldo left off the mark Cristiano Ronaldo routinely shattered goalscoring standards following his 2009 arrival at Real Madrid. However, unlike Messi and Raphinha, the Portuguese icon never matched that specific four-game scoring surge to open a La Liga season. Ronaldo’s personal best through Matchday 4 of a La Liga campaign stood at five goals, a mark he achieved across three separate seasons. He first set the standard during his 2009-10 debut campaign before replicating it in 2014-15 and 2015-16, highlighted by a five-goal masterclass against Espanyol on Matchday 3 of the latter campaign. Nevertheless, the Portuguese star produced an unprecedented scoring stretch later in that 2014-15 campaign by racking up nine goals across his first four individual league appearances. After sitting out Matchday 2 due to injury, Ronaldo hit nine goals through Matchday 5, scoring once against Cordoba, once against Atletico Madrid, three against Deportivo La Coruna, and four against Elche.
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