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Lionel Messi: Cesc Fabregas reveals real reason Barcelona ace is not as good for Argentina
LIONEL MESSI is under much more pressure to perform for Argentina than he is at club level for Barcelona.
World Cup: Argentina line up in the tunnel alongside Croatia
That is the opinion of Chelsea midfielder and Messi’s former Barcelona team-mate Cesc Fabregas.
Lionel Messi is sometimes criticised by supporters for failing to convert his club form at international level.
The forward has scored 64 goals in 125 caps for Argentina, a far less goal to game ratio than he has at Barcelona.
But Fabregas believes it is difficult when the quality of his team-mates at Argentina is far less than at Barcelona.
He feels that more people are expecting much more from him than what’s required at Barcelona
And he says the pressure of a whole country on his shoulders also weighs him down.
“I think so (the pressure is different to Barcelona), I think so,” Fabregas said on BBC One.
“He feels it, he feels that more people are expecting much more from him than what’s required at Barcelona.
“At Barcelona I think, obviously, the quality is higher.
“So here (at Argentina), they expect he needs to score three goals every single game, like he does for Barcelona.
“I’m sorry but football is not that simple.
“As much as he is the best, it is difficult.”
Messi was not able to prevent Argentina losing to Croatia tonight.
Jorge Sampaoli's side fell to a 3-0 defeat which puts them at serious risk of missing out on the knockout stages of the World Cup.