Facundo Pellistri has revealed he looks forward to hopefully meeting Cristiano Ronaldo during pre-season, and has revealed how he first met superstar Lionel Messi.
Pellistri originally signed for Manchester United for a fee just short of £8 million from Argentinian side Peñarol, and although has now been on the club’s books for two seasons, is yet to make his competitive debut.
After spending time with the U23s in Premier League 2, in Janaury 2021 it was decided that he would head to Spain to play for Alaves on loan for the remainder of the season.
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Then after spending pre-season with the Reds, he went back on loan for a second season, and in total played an underwhelming amount of football for the club.
It is yet to be seen if he will go on loan for the coming season, but he will be joining the rest of the squad for pre-season at least.
One thing all players do during their careers as a footballer is collect the shirts of some of their greatest opponents.
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During his time in La Liga, Pellistri made sure to collect the shirts of some of his fellow Uruguayan colleagues, and has spoken on his collection so far.
“Many tell me that they start remembering late to collect shirts. I have all the Uruguayans from LaLiga, I only need Ronald Araujo's because just that day there was a problem with the shirts in Vitoria. It's good to remember later who you played with, it's something very nice.”
In La Liga of course, no shirt was more desired among players than Lionel Messi’s. A complete icon of the game and one of the greatest players of all time, every footballer wants a Messi shirt.
Although Messi now plays for French side PSG, Pellistri had the chance to ask for his shirt during the 20/21 season; but was ultimately unsuccessful.
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“I missed Messi's... I arrived late. He told me that he had given the three that he already had, so I gave him a hug. A genius. He delivers three per game and obviously he always delivers them.
“Everyone is going to ask him, so you take half a second and you are left without the shirt.”
Another icon of the game who’s shirt is often requested is Messi’s greatest rival, Cristiano Ronaldo. Being a player who has won everywhere he has played, Ronaldo is a player that teammates and rivals alike look up to – and Pellistri is no exception.
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"I haven't seen him [Ronaldo] yet. I'm waiting for the moment, it's a crack. They tell me that he is a beast, super ambitious and that despite his age he is still like no one else. I want to see him and learn to use it in things in my favor.”
With the World Cup coming up this December, Portugal and Uruguay will meet each other in the group stage.
When asked about if he was planning on mentioning this to Ronaldo should they meet, Pellistri commented: "I don't know if I'm going to tell him. I'm going to see if he tells me something first.
“It would be amazing to meet him in the pre-season so that when the time comes to meet him in the [World Cup], see if everything works out if I can get a jersey. It would be nice to try to get a 'friend' to see if you can get a t-shirt. It is impossible to get those monsters.”
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Facundo Pellsitri will be looking to make an impression on Erik ten Hag during the club’s 2022 tour of Asia and Australia, and was part of the squad that yesterday traveled to Bangkok ahead of the club’s first pre-season fixture against Liverpool on 12 July.
The club are set to then face Melbourne Victory, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace on the Australian leg of the tour, before heading back to Europe to face Atletico Madrid in Oslo on 30 July before rounding off the the trip with a face-off against Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford the following day.
Ten Hag then leads his new squad into the official 2022/23 Premier League season with a match-up against Brighton & Hove Albion the following weekend on Sunday 7 August.
Topics: Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Facundo Pellistri, Football
Dylan Penketh