Surprise. Or a big surprise. Pablo Maffeo will be called up in the next few days by the Argentina senior team for the matches that Scaloni’s team will face against Uruguay and Brazil if a bureaucratic matter that has the AFA and the player in a tense wait is resolved in the next few hours. The coach has been in talks with the player in recent weeks and has expressed his desire to have him in the world champion team and Maffeo has decided to take the step.
Pablo can play for Argentina because his mother was born there. In fact his father is Italian and only he was born in Spain, in Sant Joan Despí (Barcelona) to be precise. The defender could choose between Spain, Argentina and Italy, but in the end it was the current world champions who chose the player who, not having played any official match with the senior team, can wear the Albiceleste shirt.
Currently, both the AFA and the Mallorca player are waiting for a bureaucratic issue to be resolved, but the desire for him to be called up is such that Mallorca have let him know that in principle he will be on the list, at the expense of what happens with the bureaucratic issue, which could arrive in the next few hours or be delayed for a couple of weeks. But the reality is that if this matter is solved in the next few days, Pablo will travel with the world champions.
Pablo Maffeo (12/07/1997), has played in all the lower categories of Spanish football, from U16 to U21, but has never had the opportunity to play with the senior team. With the new cycle initiated by Luis de la Fuente, it does not seem viable that he can be called up either, which is why the player, who initially had in his mind to wait for Spain, has decided to commit himself to the Albiceleste.
Maffeo, a right-back with a powerful finish in the opposition box, was snapped up at a young age by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who gave him his debut when he was just 19. From there he moved to Girona, part of the City Group, until after several loan spells at Stuttgart and Huesca, he ended up at Mallorca, his current club.
His last few years have been at a more than remarkable level, so much so that Sevilla were interested in him during the last summer market, but in the end the negotiations did not come to fruition. His level has attracted the attention of Lionel Scaloni, who had been following him for some time: “We are following him and when the time comes we will see if he wants to come”, he said in 2022. Today that day has come, Scaloni is counting on him for the next call-up and Pablo “feels like” taking the step. If the bureaucratic problem does not prevent it, he will be ready to play.