Emi Buendía: ‘Messi asked do I want to play for Spain or Argentina?’

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Six years on from catching Barcelona great’s eye the inspirational Norwich midfielder is relishing a Premier League return

Six years ago Barcelona were coasting at the Camp Nou, five goals into a 6-0 destruction of Getafe, but before the second half began Lionel Messi covered his mouth and encouraged a then 18-year-old midfielder, who had represented Spain at youth level a month earlier, to switch allegiances. “I maybe did something good to impress him,” Emi Buendía says, smiling. “He asked: ‘What do you want to do? Do you want to play for Spain or Argentina?’ Quickly I said: ‘Of course I want to play for Argentina. I want to play with you – it is a dream.’”

A key cog in helping Norwich return to the Premier League at the first attempt, Buendía hopes an Argentina call-up, and living out that fantasy of playing with Messi, could be the next milestone. “The target this year was to be back in the Premier League, so that one is achieved, but everyone wants to play for his national team,” says Buendía, who has three caps for Argentina’s Under-20s. “It would be something very special for me. I work every day to try to be better and to try to get this chance to represent my country.”

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from Football | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/30/emi-buendia-messi-spain-or-argentina-norwich-premier-league

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