Christian Pulisic has named Luis Figo as his footballing idol growing up, and said that he would love to play alongside Lionel Messi at Chelsea. A little over three weeks ago, the FC Barcelona superstar, which many consider the greatest footballer in history, gave Pulisic a commendation, when he named the most expensive American player ever to his “youth on the rise” list.
The compilation, which designates the top 15 rising young stars in the world, was a part of Topps’ Champions League cards series, which were in fact designed by the 32-year-old galactico. So you have game recognizing game earlier this month, with the favor now returned.
In an interview with the club’s app, he was pressed on who he would love to play with at Stamford Bridge, and Pulisic responded:
“That’s tough, man! I mean Figo was my favourite player growing up but I definitely wouldn’t mind having [Lionel] Messi on my team. Can I choose both?”
Messi, winner of six Ballon d’Or awards, is Barcelona’s all time leading scorer with 627 goals. He’s won 33 trophies during his time at Barca. Figo, a former Real Madrid midfielder won a record 127 caps for the Portugal national team. The mark has since been broken by another player many consider to be the greatest ever, Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 21-year-old Hershey, Pennsylvania native went on to elaborate about why Figo was his football role model. adding:
“My first footballing idol was definitely Luis Figo,” Pulisic added. “He’s someone I looked up to when I was younger.”
“The first shirt I owned was a Luis Figo jersey and I remember wearing it when playing football with my dad in the basement at home back in Hershey.
“In fact, my nickname then was actually Figo! My dad started it and sometimes he even still calls me it now.”
Pulisic was out injured since New Year’s Day when world football grinded to a halt in mid March.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
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