Coach On Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martinez Barcelona Team-Up: 'More Argentines, The Better'

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has said that Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez teaming up in Barcelona would be good for the national team.

The coronavirus pandemic drastically affected not only the soccer players but the viewers as well. In fact, Messi’s national side coach, Scaloni, who is one of the few privileged people who can watch live games at the moment, decided not to view Barcelona vs. Mallorca live last Saturday (June 13).

In a recent interview with Ole (via Besoccer.com) prior to the match, Scaloni said that aside from not being sure if he is allowed to go to Son Moix, he enjoys watching games at home more.

"I'm not going to go and I didn't even ask for it. I think that due to protocol I can't as there is a maximum number of people allowed at each game and that's good. I'll watch it from home which is the same as being in the stadium and I'll even enjoy it more," Scaloni said.

As the coach who handled both Messi and Martinez, Scaloni was once again asked about his thoughts on Barcelona’s pursuit of the Inter Milan star. According to veteran coach, Messi and Martinez playing together in Barca will not only be good for the Catalan club but for the national team as well. However, Scaloni is still convinced that it will not be an easy transfer.

"It's obvious that the more Argentines there are in the same team, the better because they would be more used to playing with each other. It would be good news if it happened, but it's not an easy transfer," Scaloni explained.

The 42-year-old has already noted in the past that "everyone wants Martinez because of his youth,” and this is also the reason why Inter will not let go of him. Apparently, Scaloni was right. Barcelona has been pursuing Martinez for quite some time, and it was hidden until a recent report from Sempreinter (via Everything Barca) finally shed light to the transfer.

Italian news sources have confirmed that Barcelona and Inter have finally come to an agreement over the signing of Martinez in the coming summer transfer window. The report further revealed that Inter have demanded around €90 million ($101.9 million) for the exit of Martinez. On top of that, the deal reportedly includes another player from Barca that hasn’t been specified yet.

Previous reports have mentioned the likes of Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele as potential candidates to be included in the long-standing Martinez swap deal.