Opponents have struggled to keep up with Lionel Messi in the World Cup, but there is one who is always close. Rodrigo De Paul is called “Messi’s bodyguard” – or bodyguard in Norwegian – and is always close to the star player. In training, in a match or when the players are relaxing at the hotel. – I would go to war for him, De Paul has previously said about the relationship between them. – He is always by Messi’s side. It’s crazy to watch. It is clear that they have a close bond, both on and off the field, says news’s football expert Kristoffer Løkberg. Argentina’s World Cup dream rests on Messi’s shoulders, but De Paul has become the man who lifts the weight for him. – If things go wrong for Messi, he has De Paul, says news’s football expert Åge Hareide before Sunday’s World Cup final. Journalist, TV 2’s La Liga expert and author Guillem Balagué follows Messi closely and published a book about the Argentine already in 2013. Balagué himself would not use the word bodyguard, but he is clear that De Paul is important to Messi both on and off the pitch. – Messi needs people around him he trusts. He needs balance in his life and he needs people to protect him. At one point it was, for example, Luis Suárez, and other players in Barcelona. Now it’s De Paul, says Balagué to news. COMMITTED: Guillem Balagué knows Lionel Messi well. Photo: Roy Kenneth Sydnes Jacobsen / news Foot follower Messi The “Bodyguard” stamp started when Messi was surrounded by Honduran players after a match in September. The cameras picked up that someone in the opponent’s support apparatus grabbed Messi’s arm, but then De Paul broke in, pulled it away and gave a clear message: “You don’t do it like that.” The episode has got people watching. Photos show how De Paul is always closest to Messi on the training field, when Argentina runs out to warm up before the match and during the warm-up itself. – There is someone I would have as a “bodyguard” myself, so I understand that Messi feels safe with De Paul nearby, says Løkberg. CLOSE: Messi and De Paul follow each other closely during the World Cup. Photo: DYLAN MARTINEZ / Reuters And who was there when Messi confronted the Dutch coaches after the quarter-final? Yes, De Paul, who, unlike the others, did not try to come between Messi and the Dutch, but fixed his gaze on van Gaal. As I said, he goes into the “war” for the team’s captain. Rodrigo De Paul is never far away when Messi is in trouble. – A dream player for Messi Many joke about the bodyguard, but the work De Paul does for Messi on the pitch is invaluable for Argentina. The man with a giant tiger tattooed on his back takes a good bite out on the grass. – I care a lot about Leo, and he cares about me, De Paul told The Athletic before the WC. He is among the players who run the longest, take part in the most duels and recover the ball the most in the World Cup. Messi, on the other hand, is among the World Cup players who go out on the field the most. De Paul literally runs for Messi. – He ensures that Argentina has a better balance than before, says Hareide about the Atletico Madrid player. – He is the dream player for Messi to have next to him. He runs through the wall to make his teammate shine and look good. It is admirable – the meters he lays down, the rooms he covers, adds Løkberg. CLOSE FRIENDS: De Paul and Messi relax together during an Argentina training session. Photo: JUAN MABROMATA / AFP De Paul is the player Messi has centered the ball to the most in the World Cup, and vice versa. And it is perhaps not so surprising, because De Paul is also the player closest to Messi in position on the pitch and allows him to shine. Messi loses the ball with one of his creative inventions, De Paul is at work cleaning up. – There is only a small space between us, explains De Paul about his own role. – I analyze while I play, and think about how I can ensure that he gets the least possible wear and tear and the most space to play in. The dialogue between us is constant. We understand each other with a glance, he continues. EYE CONTACT: Messi and De Paul have good chemistry both on and off the pitch. Photo: KAI PFAFFENBACH / Reuters Broke into Aguero’s delivery The close relationship continues off the pitch. Every morning, two or more of the players gather to drink the traditional South American drinking mate. But De Paul has also learned when to give Messi some breathing room. – Occasionally he walks away from the pitch alone after a training session. Then I take a shower, make food, and after an hour I knock on his door. Then it’s fine. As time goes by you understand these moments, De Paul tells The Athletic Former Argentina star Sergio Agüero streams on Twitch during the World Cup. One day he had Messi and Papu Gomez as guests in the broadcast, but here too De Paul appeared. Suddenly he burst into the picture, kissed both on the head, before standing with his arms crossed at the back of the picture – just like a “bodyguard”. FROM DOHA WITH LOVE: Bodyguard De Paul shows his loving side to Messi and Paup Gomez. De Paul is used to not being the main character in private, either. He is together with the singer Martina Stoessel, who has been named artist of the year in Argentina several times. From 2017-2021, she was the country’s most streamed artist on Spotify, where her most popular song has almost half a billion plays. She has nearly 20 million followers on Instagram, more than twice as many as De Paul. More clearing boys Next to him in midfield, De Paul has clearing partner Enzo Fernández. He was supposed to play second fiddle in the World Cup, but after Giovani Lo Celso was injured, the 21-year-old has put on the work gloves. Leandro Paredes has also made an effort that qualifies for the title of bodyguard: – Argentina has constructed a midfield with several clearing boys. The usual thing is to have a mixture, with one looking after the defensive. At Argentina, there are two who do it. Especially the area behind Messi is a dangerous area to lose the ball in, says Hareide. But De Paul is not just a tall man with muscles of steel and lungs of iron. He has become the link in the Argentine team, and among the midfielders in the semi-finals, only Croatia’s Marcelo Brozovic (466) succeeded in more passes than De Paul (410). Hareide points out that Kylian Mbappé has a similar role to Messi for France. In the WC final, he believes we will see two teams waiting for their superstar to come up with something decisive. – What I fear about that final is that there are two tanks facing each other, then they have Mbappé and Messi who can create an imbalance. Therefore, the balance that De Paul ensures is very important for Argentina, says news’s football expert.
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