Argentina’s Lionel Messi hailed former teammate Ronaldinho as the inspiration behind his freekick in the 3-0 win against Uruguay in World Cup qualifying.
Messi, who played alongside Atlético Mineiro’s Ronaldinho in his years at the Camp Nou, told reporters: “I saw that Ronaldino and Pirlo both scored similar goals.”
Barcelona star Messi struck the freekick under the wall and past Fernando Muslera in goal in order to send Argentina to a 3-0 win.
Messi elaborated: “The goalkeeper knew that I like to shoot over the top and was float-footed. I anticipated that he was going to jump and for that reason decided to go underneath.”
Earlier this year, Ronaldinho told the press that he remained good friends with Messi, who he spent five years with at Barcelona between 2003 and 2008.
Argentina won the game courtesy of a Messi double and a Sergio Agüero strike. They now face Saudi Arabia in a friendly ahead of their Superclássico rematch against Brazil on November 21.
