FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi has tipped fellow countrymen and Juventus forward Paulo Dybala for stardom following his call-up to the Argentina squad in recent times.
Dybala was snapped up by Juventus in the summer following his sensational form for Serie A outfit Palermo.
The forward’s form for the Turin side earned him a call-up to the national side last month. And despite him being on the bench for all of the 90 minutes in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Ecuador, compatriot and national team captain Lionel Messi has tipped him for great things.
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Messi hails Dybala as future great
Lionel Messi is currently out injured and hence has been away from national side duty in the international break. However, the Argentina captain did not shy away from revealing his thoughts on the new Juventus forward.
“Paulo is a great player and he has a bright future ahead of him,” the Barcelona man was quoted as saying by Goal.com.
“I have no doubt that people will talk about him a lot over the next few years.”
FC Barcelona lack spark without Lionel Messi — Kempes
Messi will hope that Dybala will have the same impact on the national side as Mario Kempes, the legendary forward had.
Kempes, who scored six goals as Argentina won the World Cup for the first time in 1978, was of the opinion that FC Barcelona’s recent slump in form is due to absence of Lionel Messi.
“Every day there is more dependence upon Messi,” Kempes told ESPNFC.
“And when we are missing the best player in the world, it is notable that it cost us. We must think about a generational change. This was a great generation of players but they haven’t given us the titles that we had hoped for.
“Whether it is Barcelona or Argentina, the team plays better with Messi. Suarez and Neymar play the way they play because of him. They are great players but they are made greater by Messi. The same thing happens with Aguero, [Carlos] Tevez, [Angel] DiMaria,” he added.