Does Lionel Messi Speak English? Julian Gressel’s Hilarious Encounter Unveils the Result of the Argentine’s English Lessons

It took AI to come up with a video of Lionel Messi speaking fluent English during a press conference. He is not conversant with the language because he spent most of his career in non-English-speaking countries. Even in Inter Miami, Leo Messi goes on with Spanish. The team’s star core comprises his Barcelona pals, who speak Spanish as a mother tongue. The club has also brought in Spanish-speaking South American players, mainly from Argentina. Nonetheless, the World Cup winner has taken the plunge to master English by attending exclusive lessons. Those efforts seem to be paying off, as Julian Gressel revealed the Argentine discussed a gameplan with him in English.

As an American of German descent, there is a chance in hell that Gressel knows Spanish. Hence, the Miami skipper made himself flexible and communicated with his teammate in an alien language.

Julian Gressel ‘understood everything’ when Lionel Messi discussed strategy in English

In a press conference, Julian Gressel had earlier revealed that his new teammates gave him a warm welcome. Now, in an appearance on PLAYER/MANAGER podcast, the full-back revealed he has a warm equation with Lionel Messi. “I think it was the first game against Al Hilal and he [Messi] came over to me and said something in English. That was the first time he spoke to me in English,” said Julian Gressel. Then the 30-year-old laid bare what Messi’s words were.

“‘Now, we change. You stay and Jordi runs. Jordi goes more in behind.’ I was like okay, sounds good,” Gressel added. Thereafter, the 8x-Ballon d’Or asked Gressel to rate his English. “He goes, ‘English, pretty good no?’ I was like ‘yes, very, very good, I understood everything,'” the Miami defender concluded the Messi-English story. Anyhow, this is not the first time he has recalled their skipper’s English adventures. Robert Taylor also had a similar story to tell.

Robert Taylor on Messi’s English lessons

As per Taylor, Lionel Messi enrolled for English lessons shortly after he joined Inter Miami in July 2023. “I’m taking Spanish lessons, and he’s taking English lessons,” Taylor once said in an interview.“I’ve heard him say a couple things in English to me and couple of players around him, so I think he speaks pretty good English,” he added.

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While the Argentine is comfortable speaking English with his teammates, he has yet to master the language enough to give a press conference to the Miami media. Perhaps that is why the superstar has not had too many interactions with the local media, despite being the Herons’ marquee player. However, per Gressel’s revelation, Messi has a sharp English learning curve.

Hopefully, he will soon comfortably interact at pressers in English as he does with his teammates.

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