My dad’s a World Cup winner who played with Lionel Messi – now I’m following in his footsteps but have major regret

5 months ago 42

MARCUS THURAM has admitted he has one major regret as he follows in his dad’s footsteps.

The Inter Milan striker is the son of French World Cup winner Lilian Thuram.

Marcus Thuram regrets giving away Lionel Messi’s boots[/caption]

Lilian Thuram won the World Cup with France in 1998[/caption]

His father also won the Euros with Les Bleus, with his illustrious career including spells with Monaco, Parma, Juventus and Barcelona.

It was during the final two years of his career at Barca that the defender would play with Lionel Messi.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner even once gave Thuram a pair of boots after he visited his dad at training.

However, the 26-year-old has now revealed he gave the boots away the next day, an act he regrets over 15 years on.

“At the age of 10, I went to see my father training at Barca, and I didn’t have my boots with me,” he told DAZN Italia.

“Messi was young, and after training, I wanted to go on the pitch with the other kids to play.

“Leo was almost the same as me: I wore 38, and he 40-41. He left me his shoes, I played, then he said ‘keep them’.

“At 10-years-old, I didn’t realise what had just happened, and the next day, I gave them to a friend. I regret it every day.”

Messi and Thuram were team-mates at Barcelona between 2006 and 2008[/caption]

Messi played alongside Thuram’s father 39 times at Barca before the Frenchman retired in 2008.

He has since come up against the Inter star in his career, though, with Thuram assisting Kylian Mbappe’s second goal in last year’s World Cup final.

That appearance was one of 13 caps for France for the forward, who joined the Serie A giants from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer.

Thuram has so far scored five goals in 16 appearances in Italy, including a strike in a 5-1 derby win over AC Milan in September.

Meanwhile, his younger brother Khephren is also a France international, making his debut back in March.

The Nice midfielder was strongly linked with a move to Liverpool earlier this year.

Thuram joined Inter Milan on a free transfer in the summer[/caption]