Lionel Scaloni has declared Lionel Messi fit ahead of Argentina World Cup qualifying fixtures against Uruguay and Brazil.
Messi, 34, missed PSG’s last two games due to knee and hamstring issues, but was still named in Argentina’s latest squad.
Scaloni’s decision to call up his talismanic forward has drawn an angry reaction from PSG, who have been without the Argentine in their last three games.
PSG Chief Leonardo called for FIFA to intervene after Messi’s inclusion in the Argentina squad, telling Le Parisien: “We do not agree to let a player go by selection who, for us, is not in physical condition or who is in the rehabilitation phase.
“It is not logical, and these types of situations deserve a real agreement with FIFA,” he said.
However, Scaloni has now confirmed that Messi will be available to face Uruguay on Friday, having taken part in full training with the rest of the Argentina squad.
“In principle, we believe that Leo is good,” he told a press conference. “Leo wants to play and I want him to play.”
The 43-year-old Manager went on to address Leonardo’s comments, insisting that Argentina broke no regulations by picking Messi.
“We have a relationship with Leonardo and their [reaction] is understandable, that Messi has spent a lot of time with the national team recently.
“But there can be no doubt that we are within the rules calling him up. This has always been a problem for European clubs,” Scaloni added.
Messi’s return will provide Argentina with a timely boost as they seek to move one step closer to next year’s tournament in Qatar.
