Lionel Messi insists he would be proud to meet the family of US president Barack Obama should the opportunity arise.
During a visit to Buenos Aires, Obama revealed that his daughters had asked him to arrange a meeting with the Barcelona star but that he had been unable to orchestrate it.
Messi revealed his surprise when asked for his views on Obama’s frustration and said he would be happily spend time with the president’s family.
“Obviously, I was surprised that he said that, but on the contrary, for me it would be completely the opposite,” said Messi.
“For me it would be a source of great pride to be able to meet him and his daughters, but obviously I know it would be complicated.
“I don’t know whether it is possible. Maybe he made the comment because he was in Argentina but I can say I was as surprised as everyone else.”
Messi had been speaking after Argentina secured a valuable 2-1 win away to Chile on Thursday to reignite their World Cup qualifying campaign.
“We did a great job although we didn’t start in the way we hoped,” he said of the match. “The group managed to revert the situation and reply in the best way.
“I felt fine on the first half, but on the second I felt the fatigue a bit, as everyone did, because Chile were fighting hard, looking for the draw without caring about conceding another goal. But we managed to stand, revert a difficult situation and maintain the 2-1.
“Today’s game gives us a lot of confidence for the next one [against Bolivia]. This way, we will get the six points we hoped for beforehand so we can be at the top of the table.”
