MLS
Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada wants out of MLS: “My dream is to play in Europe, hopefully it happens”
The MLS Young Player of the Year did not hide his feelings of wanting to play in Europe at some stage in his career.
Atlanta United don’t have any room to make mistakes in the first round of the MLS playoffs after falling to heavy defeat in the first of potentially three games against Columbus Crew, who cruised past them 2-0 in the first encounter. Now, the side that finished 6th in the Eastern Conference standings have no choice but to win if they want to force the third game in the mini-series.
One of the footballers who showed their best form throughout the season - but unfortunately is unavailable due to suspension - is Thiago Almada. The Argentine, a world champion and now MLS Young Player of the Year, gave an interview with journalist Gastón Edul through Twitch, in which the two touched on various topics including his future, Messi’s arrival to MLS and the ex-Barça player winning his 8th Ballon d’Or.
Messi critics only ‘want to be on TV’
“I’m going to try and finish the year in the best way possible”, Almada said, “and try to win something here with the club because we are still in the playoffs and after we’ll see the options I have with my family and agent, my dream is to play in Europe, hopefully it can happen. For now I’m very happy here at the club that has helped me so much to develop on and off the pitch. We’ll see what happens in December and January”.
Almada also took time to mention Messi, his compatriot who won an 8th Ballon d’Or. The Atlanta player said that criticism aimed at the ex-PSG forward’s award is unwarranted as he proved his level clearly for both Inter Miami and Argentina, showing that he is still the best player in the world and a fair winner of the award.
“I knew Leo could win [the Ballon d’Or] and it was more than deserved, he’s the best and it’s so good to have him as a teammate and see the type of person he is. There are always comments from people who want to be on TV, but we all know that Leo is the best player in the world and he totally deserves it”, Almada said.
MLS:
Messi brought ‘enormous change’ to MLS
Finally, the 22-year-old was certain that Messi, who is set to face Fluminense in the Copa Interamericana, has completely changed the way people see MLS, recognising that more people watch the league since the arrival of the Argentine, as well as players such as Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba (soon to be Suárez?) who have also landed in Miami.
“It’s an enormous change for Messi to have come to MLS”, he said, “I think he improved every club, everyone is attentive what goes on in the league and the arrivals of Busquets and Jordi Alba have also given it a big push forward”.