Osvaldo: Messi lives life in a golden prison

Joe Williams

Former Southampton striker Dani Osvaldo says he would love to be able to play like Lionel Messi but wouldn’t like to have “no life” like the Barcelona forward.

The 32-year-old took the decision to retire from football in 2016 in order to pursue a career as a rock musician after forming a band named Barrio Viejo in Barcelona.

And Osvaldo, who also played for Boca Juniors, Juventus and Roma, imagines Messi living in a “golden prison”.

“Would I like to be like Messi? No. I’d like to play like him, but he has no life. It’s as if he lives in a golden prison,” Osvaldo told Marca.

“He couldn’t go somewhere and quietly drink something. Maybe he doesn’t care about it, but I do.

“I imagine him buying the biggest TV in the world, but then he’s never in his living room to use it.

“Failing that, he probably drives a Ferrari, knowing he lives 15 minutes away from the Barcelona’s training ground…”