Rodrigo De Paul told how the shocking moment was when he found out that Giovani Lo Celso would not play in the World Cup: “He killed me”

Rodrigo De Paul is one of the references of the Argentine National Team, a member of the “small table” that he forms together with Lionel Messi. Giovani Lo Celso was always part of that subgroup and the two midfielders forged a great friendship.

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However, the injury Gio suffered a few weeks before Qatar 2022 hit the squad deeply. In a chat with Morena Beltrán, broadcast on AFA’s twitch, the “Motorcito” from La Scaloneta opened up: “For me it was very, very hard. Gio and I were from the first day playing together in almost all the games; We had been talking about the World Cup for months”.

De Paul and Lo Celso, friends and partners on the pitch, after being champions at Wembley. (Photo: Reuters) By: REUTERS

On the run-up to football’s biggest event, De Paul expressed: “Sometimes by cabal one doesn’t want to do it, but you have to rent the house to your family, you have to ask for the tickets, you have to do things so that they are very more comfortable and organized, so you are calm”.

In those negotiations prior to the commitment that every footballer dreams of, Rodrigo knew that Lo Celso would not be by his side and that is how he suffered: “He killed me for what I love, for what he is. Already removing the football because he was one of the most important players, as a person and friend; After talking to him, I called people who are close to me and no one could believe it because of the type of person he is.”

Among so many issues, De Paul accompanied his “brother” in the pain that he had to go through: “It was quite hard, I saw him cry; for three days he could not answer the phone. I have no doubt that he will have revenge. In 2018 he went to the World Cup with great enthusiasm, he didn’t have to play and everyone told him ‘don’t worry, you’re going to have revenge’; he did the whole process and being so close that happens to him… In life, there are difficult moments all the time; the important thing is to be able to overcome them”.