Leandro Paredes admits he has "never seen Lionel Messi so happy" after helping an Argentina icon to break his international trophy duck at this summer's Copa America.
A six-time Ballon d'Or winner has finally got his hands on major silverware at senior level with his country, with an all-time great adding to the enviable collection of honours he has secured with Barcelona.
The relief as Messi hoisted a continental crown aloft was clear for all to see, with the 34-year-old now expected to commit his club future to Barcelona after reaching the end of his contract at Camp Nou.
What has been said?
Paredes sees an illustrious fellow countryman being in a good place, telling TyC Sports of a memorable triumph for those that have been crying out for something to cheer: "Not just us, but the 45 million Argentines wanted Leo to lift a title with the Argentine national team.
"Then, to contribute something to make it happen and to be there enjoying it with him was incredible.
"I’ve never seen Messi so happy and much less for 45 days. He really enjoyed being with us. It was like a graduation trip where we had a lot of fun.
"We won, because we did it against everyone, and we reached the final. For us, it was a really incredible Copa America, a dream come true."
What did Messi say to Neymar?
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After an epic final showdown between old adversaries Argentina and Brazil, two former Barcelona team-mates shared an emotional on-field embrace.
Messi and Neymar were then spotted chatting behind the scenes, with Parades also involved in those discussions as a current PSG colleague of a Selecao striker.
On what was said, Paredes added: "We are not talking about the final. We talked about how we were doing, how the family was doing, what we were going to do on vacation and what we had done in these 45 days. It was more of something else than the final itself.
"With that you realise the kind of people the two (Messi and Neymar) are. Beyond being stars, they have the humility to sit down after such an important final and talk about other things."