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Manchester United legend Gary Neville has confirmed that he stands by his criticism of Argentina’s back-line pairing, stressing that Lionel Messi is the one who constantly saves them from mistakes.
The Spanish “Marca” newspaper reports.After England qualified for the finals, Christian Romero’s response to Neville did not end the controversy, but rather fueled it.
A few hours after the Argentine defender sent a scathing message to Neville, in which he said: “I hope when I retire I won’t be so stupid,” the former Manchester United legend chose to reply to his criticism of Argentina’s defence, but he did so without backing down from his position.
Neville reiterated his commitment to his earlier statements, refusing to make any apologies or toning down the severity of his words, and confirmed the validity of the analysis he presented before England and Argentina met in the semi-finals.
“I think I know what I’m talking about when I watch a player,” Neville said, before re-emphasizing that Argentina’s centre-back pair still combine great brilliance with unpredictability.
Neville pointed out that Argentina conceded 6 goals in the qualifying rounds and stated that he had set the social media on fire saying: “What if they didn’t have Lionel Messi in front of them? These two should hug him every minute. Because the truth is that he saves them, England and England after conceding one goal with England.
The English pundit believes Messi has managed to cover up many of the defensive mistakes he believes the two defenders still make.
Neville went on to explain that he never doubted their talent, saying: “I also said they were amazing. They are a force of nature. They will win every ball they share and have exceptional personality.”
But he immediately returned to their criticism, adding: “They make mistakes, they make a lot of mistakes, they go from the top to the bottom in a strange way.”
Neville insisted that Christian Romero’s excellent performance at the current World Cup has not changed his opinion, citing what the Argentine defender did in the English Premier League last season to reinforce his view.
He added: “He played in a team that was close to relegation and conceded 65 goals. I think I know what I’m talking about when I watch a player.”
He concluded. “I think Romero is still relatively young. He has not yet become a seasoned defender. If it wasn’t for Messi, we’d be talking about them a lot more. What we saw last night was absolute genius.”
