Lionel Messi should be replaced as Argentina captain by Ramiro Funes Mori, claims World Cup winner

DANIEL PASSARELLA does not think Lionel Messi is the man to lead Argentina.

The Albiceleste's 1978 World Cup winning skipper insists it would do the Barcelona star the world of good to ditch the captain's armband.

No nonsense Passarella, who banned long hair, earings and homosexuals when he managed Argentina to the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup, also reckons Messi is too timid as a leader.

And he suggests the best man for the job is Everton centre-half Ramiro Funes Mori, even though he has not been a regular starter for Toffees boss Ronald Koeman this season.

Passarella told Chilean newspaper El Mercurio: “Not giving the captaincy of Argentina to Messi would take a weight off of him.

“I think Argentina already have a great leader, which is Ramiro Funes Mori. He should be the captain.

“The leader of the group is something different to the way you play and the talent of each player.

“I admire Messi, but I think his personality, his way of being, is withdrawn and timid.”

Messi retired from international football after Argentina lost to Chile on penalties in the Copa America final in July.

But he announced a changed of mind in August and has retained the captain's armband.

Passarella became a national hero after he led Argentina to their first World Cup win, on home soil, after a 3-1 extra-time victory over Holland in Beunos Aries