Star targeted by Real Madrid rejected Messi and Argentina: "My heart was not there"

For a couple of years now, the Argentine national team has been the best in the world. With the arrival of Lionel Scaloni as coach in 2018, a process of renewal of the squad began, which allowed the arrival of very talented young players, such as Emiliano Martinez, Cristian Romero, Enzo Fernandez, Giovani Lo Celso, Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis MacAllister, Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez.

They achieved what no one had been able to do before: to make Lionel Messi feel comfortable in the team and show his best version. And thanks to that came the successes, such as the Copa America 2021, the Finalissima 2022 and the Qatar 2022 World Cup. This made many young players born in different countries around the world but with Argentine roots choose to represent the South American country, such as Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho, Real Madrid's Nicolás Paz and AC Milan's Luka Romero. However, there is one exception: Santiago Giménez.

The striker was born in Buenos Aires in 2001, but when he was very young, his father, also a soccer player, was transferred to Mexico. That is why he grew up there and started playing for Cruz Azul. In 2022 he was transferred to Feyenoord and his excellent performances there have caught the attention of top clubs like Real Madrid.

But when it came time to choose which national team to join, Giménez didn't hesitate. In an interview with journalist Christian Martin, he explained: "My family was telling me to look for Argentina, but my heart wasn't there and today I'm happy with the decision I made and what I can dream of with the Mexican national team".

Not even Leo could change his decision

Then Giménez assured that the motivation of being Messi's teammate was not enough to change his decision: "I'm not lying, I love Messi, he is an animal, he is the best in history, but better to play against him than with him. I was not going to make the decision to play for the Argentine National Team because of Messi, I was going to make it with my heart".