After a Liverpool target exchange, Lionel Messi left Alexis Mac Allister “shaking.”

Alexis Mac Allister and Lionel Messi made their name in Argentina history at last winter’s World Cup

What a year it was for Alexis Mac Allister.
Just twelve months ago, the 24-year-old was a relatively unknown man. It’s fair to say he helped Brighton finish ninth in the Premier League – their best finish ever – but few expected the Santa Rosa native to become a global superstar.

A look at the present: only a few football fans don’t know the Argentinian maestro. Mac Allister has developed into one of the most notable midfielders in the top flight and has helped the Seagulls improve from last season. They eventually finished sixth, securing European football for the first time in club history.

A self-confessed introvert, Mac Allister’s form has dropped him straight onto Liverpool’s radar, with Jurgen Klopp set to finalize a £70m deal for the midfielder in the coming weeks.

But it was his exploits for Argentina that catapulted Mac Allister from fugitive to superstar.

Picked up after an opening day humiliation against Saudi Arabia, the midfield star started the remaining six games as Albiceleste lifted the World Cup for the first time in 36 years.

Argentina hadn’t kept football’s biggest prize in the air since Diego Maradona and Mac Allister was at the heart of it all.

The pre-tournament conversation centered around Lionel Messi and the trophy that eluded him during his 20-year career. After suffering a loss in the 2014 final, the superstar striker rolled back the years and emerged as a man on a mission to put his name in history.

But where Sergio Aguero and Javier Mascherano failed nine years ago, it was Mac Allister and company who helped him cross the finish line.

A goal and an assist at the World Cup may seem small, but the Brighton man proved an unsung hero, throwing himself into the ground to make up for Messi’s dwindling offside value ethic.

Achievement of fame placed Mac Allister on the world stage – and raised his price by a few pounds. Had Liverpool been careful with their transfer policy, they might have signed their man for a clip last summer as their rivals’ eyes were on Seagulls teammates Marc Cucurella or Yves Bissouma. The victory also made Messi, now immortalized in the pantheon of football gods, his brother in arms. But that wasn’t always the case.

For Argentines, the 35-year-old is an acclaimed figure. While Mac Allister is a pro in his own right, that didn’t make him any different.

Ahead of the World Cup, the £70m midfielder has spoken about the first time he met Messi after a November 2019 call-up for Argentina. Mac Allister, still only 20, admitted he “fumbled” before meeting the national icon.

“I was so nervous, my hands were shaking,” she told CNN. “I’m a very shy guy, so yeah, I was very nervous. But then you realize how modest he is. At that time I was playing for Boca Juniors, so we had come from Argentina to [play] I think it was Spain for a friendly.

“And we arrived and he was eating. I went to the table and waved with shaking hands. I was sweating. But it was a great moment. He is my idol. He’s the best footballer in the world.”

Mac Allister – of Gaelic descent – also shared how Messi defended him when his international teammates gave him a derogatory nickname. The midfielder added: “I don’t like it and he told his teammates. He (Messi) said, ‘He doesn’t like being called Colo, so don’t call him that!'”