Rousing the Kop

Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister suggested with the ultimate Argentina honour as Lionel Messi retires

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Alexis Mac Allister was part of the farewell match that saw Lionel Messi bow out of the international stage. Messi has ended his Argentina career, with eyes now on the next generation, which includes Liverpool’s midfielder.On the domestic scene, Mac Allister wears the number ten shirt for Liverpool, but he dons number 20 on the international stage because of Messi.But now that Messi has retired from Argentina duty, it was suggested by one of the nation’s biggest media outlets, TyC Sports, that it’s Mac Allister who should take his number.



Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images Alexis Mac Allister to wear Lionel Messi’s number ten shirt for Argentina? Whoever does take Messi’s number ten shirt, and there is no suggestion the number will be retired, will have the greatest honour but also the biggest of pressures.

Not only did Messi wear number ten, but so did a player greater than him, the late iconic figure, Diego Armando Maradona.While it is inspirational to follow in those players’ footsteps, it’s also incredibly nerve-racking, and Mac Allister could be the next man to wear that famous number. “Don’t call him Colorado anymore; he doesn’t like it,” Messi said one day, and no one ever called him that again,’ wrote TyC Sports.“Just as we mentioned earlier that there were footballers who helped Messi on the national team, it was undoubtedly a reciprocal relationship: Mac Allister’s career was certainly enhanced by his close relationship and partnership with Messi on the field.