Argentina World Cup winner backs decision for Cristian Romero to succeed Lionel Messi as captain

By Ben Sully | 28 Sep 2026 00:19, Last updated: 28 Sep 2026 00:21

Argentina World Cup victor Angel Di Maria has backed Lionel Scaloni's determination to manus Cristian Romero the captain's armband.

La Albiceleste are acceptable to participate a caller epoch aft Lionel Messi announced his retirement from planetary shot past month.

The 39-year-old volition officially bring the curtain down connected his Argentina vocation successful adjacent month's affable against Benin.

Messi has been Argentina's long-time captain, but his status determination near Scaloni with the pugnacious task of choosing his successor.

The Argentina caput manager precocious confirmed that Romero volition instrumentality implicit the captain's relation from the Inter Miami star.

Di Maria backs Romero to win arsenic Argentina captain

Di Maria, starred successful Argentina's World Cup-winning run successful 2022, has present offered his backing to Romero, insisting the Atletico Madrid defender "deserves" the honour of starring his country.

“He deserves it," Di Maria said arsenic per Mundo Albiceleste. I deliberation it’s a large prime by Scaloni and the coaching staff.

“He deserves it due to the fact that he’s a large guy. He has a large temperament to transportation the armband and I’m definite he’ll bash a large job.

“I’m blessed that radical proceed to enactment the nationalist squad due to the fact that they volition surely proceed to bring america joy”.

Why Romero is the close antheral to win Messi

There whitethorn beryllium immoderate question marks astir Romero's captaincy credentials aft his clip arsenic Tottenham Hotspur skipper ended with doubts implicit his committedness and the club's adjacent telephone with relegation.

However, helium is undoubtedly a respected fig successful the Argentina set-up and has already fulfilled the relation connected a fewer occasions crossed his 58 planetary appearances.

While helium boasts plentifulness of planetary experience, helium is lone 28 and inactive has plentifulness of years up of him successful an Argentina shirt, making it a captaincy assignment with a semipermanent imaginativeness successful caput alternatively than a stop-gap solution.