Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli denies Lionel Messi rift
Tuesday 5 September 2017 10:15, UK
Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli has poured cold water on claims of a rift with Lionel Messi ahead of their crucial World Cup Qualifier with Venezuela.
Sat fifth in South American World Cup qualifying, Argentina are left with no room to manoeuvre as they look to secure a top-four finish, and automatic qualification to Russia 2018, from their remaining three games.
Venezuela may well be on the horizon but the build-up has been dominated by an alleged disagreement between Messi and newly-appointed boss Sampaoli.
But, speaking at his pre-match press conference, Sampaoli dismissed the claims, accusing them of trying to destabilise his team.
"You are asking me about rumours," he said. "I can't be giving credence to rumours.
"You have to have some kind of certainty that what you are asking is truth. Otherwise, I am giving credence to rumours.
"Yes, I can say that is false, just like I can say there are a lot of statements that are false. But you are asking me about rumours, perhaps something with intent to do harm.
"Nowadays, we are living in a world in which a lie that is told a thousand times becomes truth. But it is shameful because we are giving value to the rumour that someone wants Argentina to be out of the World Cup and that is shameful.
"We are very lucky to have the best player in the world totally involved to get Argentina to the World Cup.
"I don't like to hear these types of questions because they are slanted and you can see where they are going."
Contrary to reports of a falling out of with Messi, Sampaoli went on to underline the importance the Barcelona forward continues to play for Argentina.
"It's difficult to remove the Messi dependency from a team when Leo is there," he added.
"When you know you have the best player you will always look toward him."
