WALES want to bring Lionel Messi to Cardiff by playing a glamour friendly with World Cup winners Argentina
The Football Association of Wales are part of the UK and Ireland bid to host Euro 2028 with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium one of the stadiums submitted in the proposal.
GettyWales want to face Lionel Messi and World Cup winners Argentina in a Cardiff friendly[/caption]
PAFAW chief executive Noel Mooney is in talks with Argentina’s ambassador in the UK[/caption]
Uefa will announce the winner on October 10 in Nyon, Switzerland.
And, if the front-running five-nations British Isles bid beats off competition from Turkey, Wales plan to play friendlies at the 74,500-capacity venue before the finals.
FAW chief executive Mooney says he would love to bring Inter Miami superstar Messi, 36, to the Welsh capital before he retires for a mouth-watering fixture.
Mooney said: “We know who we would like to play if we had to play some matches before the tournament.
“The likes of the World Cup winners, Argentina, there is an on-going discussion.
“I’d love to see Lionel Messi playing in Cardiff and it’s at the top of our list.
“We spoke to them in the last few days about playing here in Cardiff. The requests they are getting are probably more than we are getting. We may not be at the top of their queue.
“But if you look at the relationship with Patagonia, for example, it’s something for us it would be great to do.”
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Wales have not faced Argentina since a 2002 friendly in Cardiff when Craig Bellamy scored to help Mark Hughes’ side record a creditable 1-1 draw with the South Americans.
The FAW have been keen to bring them back for some time.
But the cost of any fixture could be a sticking point unless Mooney makes Wales fans pay higher ticket prices to fund a match against the world No1 side.
Wales would also be open to the possibility of an away fixture against the same opposition.
That would be to acknowledge the Welsh settlers who are based in Patagonia, a region in South America shared by Argentina and Chile.
Mooney said: “I met the Argentine ambassador for the UK in the last few days. He just happened to be in Cardiff meeting with the Welsh government.
“I used the opportunity to have a chat with him to see what he would think about us coming down to Argentina to play them. He was excited by the idea.
“The sad thing for us is he doesn’t decide who Argentina play. And if he does I’d be worried. But there is definitely a connection.
“There is a genuine history with Patagonia and the Welsh people who settled there. I could feel a huge warmth from the Argentine ambassador towards Wales. People speak Welsh down there.
“I spoke to Carwyn Jones about a trip he went on down there and he said he was amazed to see people coming up to you and talking Welsh so beautifully.”
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