André Pierre Gignac would rather Kylian Mbappé than Lionel Messi in his side | OneFootball

In an interview with Fox Sports, ex-French international attacker André-Pierre Gignac indicated his admiration for Lionel Messi. Before Sunday’s World Cup final between France and Argentina, the French striker admitted that he felt that the Argentine captain “deserved” to win the competition.

Gignac, who has 36 caps for France, came within centimetres from winning EURO 2016 for France after hitting the post in the final vs Portugal. More than six years later, the former OM striker will be an attentive spectator of the World Cup final on Sunday.

In the event of defeat being suffered by Didier Deschamps’ men, André-Pierre Gignac will not necessarily be the most upset.

“Today, in Argentina, they want to win the World Cup for Messi. I am French, but I would like Messi to lift the World Cup because he deserves it for his whole career. His temperament is that of a leader.”

Asked about the battle between Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, André-Pierre Gignac indicated that he would opt for the France striker if he was a coach and had choose which player he’d rather have in his squad. But ‘APG’ would rather play with Messi: “He still has a lot of magic.”

In a separate part of the interview, Gignac discussed the possibility of his 7-year-old son, Eden, competing at the World Cup in 2034 but for… Mexico, when asked about that particular national team’s struggles during this tournament, going out at the group stage: