Man Utd attacker breaks silence after incredible Lionel Messi comparison and makes his stance very clear

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Manchester United winger Amad Diallo has finally spoken out about the bold comparison made between himself and Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi.

Diallo has missed a large part of United’s current campaign after he sustained a knee injury during the Premier League club’s pre-season tour in the United States.

The 21-year-old Ivorian winger, who was on loan at Sunderland last season, has since made his return to United after recovering from his long-term injury.

Diallo came off the bench in United’s final Premier League match of 2023 against Nottingham Forest and impressed fans with his performance in the 2-1 defeat.

The Ivory Coast international has struggled to establish himself as a regular in the United first team after he arrived from Italian side Atalanta in 2021.

United paid an initial £19m to sign the highly rated Diallo in the first place, with the deal bringing him to Old Trafford including a further £18.2m in add-ons.

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Diallo draws comparison with Messi

United manager Erik ten Hag seems to be an admirer of Diallo and used the youngster during the United pre-season before he suffered his knee injury.

Diallo enjoyed a successful loan spell at Sunderland and managed to score 14 times and picked up four assists in 42 appearances for the Black Cats last season.

The former Atalanta star has sometimes been dubbed the ‘Ivorian Messi’ after emerging on the scene and has shown impressive technique in training sessions.

Papu Gomez, who was part of Argentina’s World Cup-winning squad in 2022, was a former teammate of Diallo at Atalanta and even compared him with Messi.

“He is a future star, trust me. During our training, he seems like Lionel Messi! You can’t stop him,” he said.

Diallo’s reaction to Messi comparison

Diallo admitted that he was humbled by Gomez’s praise and how he has been compared with Barcelona legend Messi due to his impact in training sessions.

But the Ivory Coast player insisted that “no-one” can play like Messi and wasted no time in playing down the comparisons with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Speaking to United’s official website, Diallo said: “I know they said this [that I was like Messi in training] but no-one plays like Messi. No-one plays like Messi.

“I am proud he [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 bit of dribbling and scoring, so they say my football is more like Messi but, today, I say no-one can play like Messi.”