‘Best player’ – Manchester United star waxes lyrical over eight-time Ballon d’Or winner

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has named the best player he has played alongside and it won’t come as a surprise to anyone.

The Argentine centre-back was influential as Argentina defended their Copa America title in the United States during the summer.

Martinez, 26, went to the tournament after enduring an injury-ridden spell last season at United. His influence was missed in the heart of defence.

While Martinez appeared to be playing at his highest levels at the Copa America, his performances for United this season have been average at best.

As a result of a dip in form, Martinez was dropped from the last game against Aston Villa as Jonny Evans partnered Harry Maguire in the heart of defence.

Even though Maguire was forced off the pitch at half-time due to an injury, Martinez was overlooked again as Matthijs de Ligt replaced the England international for the second half.

Erik ten Hag said he changed his centre-back pairing for the trip to Villa Park due to rotation…

Lisandro Martinez raves about Lionel Messi

Martinez is currently away on international duty as Argentina prepare for World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia.

Speaking to JD Football, Martinez was asked to name the best player he has played with in his career. The answer was, quite obviously, Lionel Messi.

“Best player I’ve played with? I would say Lionel Messi,” Martinez said.

“Why? Because he’s the best player in the history of football and I play, I’m playing with him in the national team and I saw things that I never seen before in another player, so I think he’s the best player. Yeah.”

Disruption to preparations

The Argentina national team have thankfully avoided serious harm from Hurricane Milton as they landed in Venezuela on Wednesday.

Lionel Scaloni’s squad had been training in Miami, where Messi currently plays his football, ahead of their upcoming qualifying matches.

The threat of Hurricane Milton disrupted preparations as the storm reached Category 5 status earlier this week, with winds of 164 mp/h recorded.

The defending world champions’ trip was delayed because the Venezuelan government decided to shut down its airspace for all Argentinian-registered planes.

They flew out on Wednesday afternoon but had to land in Barranquilla, in northern Colombia.

Argentina held by Venezuela

Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw by Venezuela as Messi returned to the side.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner missed Argentina’s last round of international fixtures due to injury, but he could not help his country claim a win over Venezuela in the early hours of the morning.

Solomon Rondon’s goal dampened Messi’s comeback in the ninth round of South America’s qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup.

However, it was Nicolas Otamendi who put the world champions ahead in the 13th minute. The equaliser from Rondon was scored in the 65th minute.

United star Alejandro Garnacho was ruled out with an injury, while Martinez was an unused substitute.