SUMMARY
- Amad Diallo, sidelined by a long-lasting knee injury, has been out for almost 6 months at Manchester United.
- Amad Diallo has reacted to previous comparisons between him and current Inter Miami sensation and Barcelona great Lionel Messi.
Manchester United forward Amad Diallo has been on the sidelines lately due to his long-lasting knee injury that had kept him out for almost 6-months out of action at United. However, he has recovered from it recently and featured against Nottingham Forest on December 30th,2023.
Not only that, Amad Diallo has reacted to previous comparisons between him and current Inter Miami sensation and Barcelona great Lionel Messi. Alejandro (Papu) Gomez stated in a post that TalkSPORT published in January 2020 that Diallo resembled Messi during training. Naturally, Gomez was the Ivorian’s teammate at Atalanta at the time.
🚨🚨🎙️| Amad Diallo: “I know they said this [that I was like Lionel Messi in training] but no-one plays like Messi. No-one plays like Messi. I am proud he [Papu Gomez] says I play like Messi but I say no-one plays like Messi! In training, I was like the same here, with a little… pic.twitter.com/oczZ1loCc3
— centredevils. (@centredevils) January 4, 2024
Amad Diallo, the 21-year-old discussed being compared to Messi, saying as much (h/t @centredevils on X): “I know they said this [that I was like Lionel Messi in training] but no one plays like Messi. No one plays like Messi. I am proud he [Papu Gomez] says I play like Messi but I say no one plays like Messi!”
He further added, “In training, I was like the same here, with a little bit of dribbling and scoring, so they say my football is more like Messi but, today, I say no one can play like Messi.” After five and a half years on Atalanta’s roster, Diallo signed for Manchester United in January 2021 for a transfer fee of $47 million. Since then, he has struggled to get into the starting lineup for Manchester United, appearing in just 10 senior games.
Papu Gomez shares his views on former teammate Amad Diallo
Papu Gomez and Amad Diallo were teammates at Atalanta FC in Italy and both complimented each other on the pitch gracefully. Gomez has always been vocal about his young teammate Amad Diallo and has praised him over the years and has even compared him to Lionel Messi.
The Argentine said: “He’s [Amad Diallo] a future star, trust me. During our training, he seems like [Lionel] Messi! You can’t stop him.” In the course of the 2021 summer transfer window, Juventus made a determined effort to compete with Manchester United for Diallo’s signature, but the Red Devils prevailed. Amad is one of the most talented players according to soccer experts and is tipped to be a future star if he keeps developing.
Atalanta captain Papu Gomez on Amad Diallo: “There are defenders in the first team that sometimes cannot stop him. To stop him in training, we have to kick him! He plays like Messi.” #mufc
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) January 7, 2021
After obtaining a work permit for the United Kingdom, the 18-year-old winger—whose £37 million ($47 million) deal was agreed upon in 2021—moved to Old Trafford in January 2022. At the age of 17, Diallo (also known as Amad Traore) made his Serie A debut for Atalanta, solidifying his status as one of Italy’s most promising young players.
It remains to be seen how Amad provides a fitting reply to his critics as he has not been performing at the standards that the fans and soccer experts want him to do. He has a huge ceiling above him and can be the very best if he continues to work hard.