USMNT star Christian Pulisic explains quality he shares with Lionel Messi as AC Milan forward reveals his childhood heroes - with fellow American making that list

Pulisic’s creativity and willingness to work hard for the collective cause has been embraced since making a senior breakthrough with Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund. He went on to become a Champions League winner at Chelsea, making history in the process, before heading to Italy in the summer of 2023.

Impressive numbers have been posted at Milan, with personal-best tallies when it comes to goals scored being raised to 15 and then up to 17 last season. Pulisic has already found the target on six occasions across all competitions this term, while also registering a couple of assists. He is considered to have mastered the art of knowing when to take charge himself and when to move the ball on to a colleague.

Messi has set the standard in that department for the best part of two decades, with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner boasting the ability to alter the course of any given contest. Pulisic takes on similar responsibility with Milan and the USMNT. At 27 years of age, he is now mature enough to take chances and immediately shrug off any setbacks.

Pulisic told DAZN of sharing those traits with one of the best to ever play the game: "I think it’s very important to understand when to take risks, and Messi knows how to do that. There are moments when you feel more confident than others, right now it’s even easier to talk, I’m scoring a lot, but there will also be negative moments and you have to be good at dealing with them."

Messi is one of those that Pulisic looked up to when forging his own career, alongside a fellow countryman and other iconic wingers that have graced the grandest of stages. He said when asked to name his idols: "I had a few. When you’re little, you follow the national team: one of them was [Clint] Dempsey. I always followed him, especially during the World Cup, with the national team. I wanted to be like him. I liked the way he played, his attitude, his way of being on the pitch. In Europe, however, there were so many players I looked up to - [Luis] Figo, and obviously Messi."

Pulisic’s experiences in Germany, England and Italy have presented him with different challenges. He has picked up many important lessons along the way, saying of how his game has developed: "I have learned a lot tactically, I have learned a lot here. I have faced different teams, and they all defend very well. It’s a different system and the same goes for the playing style."

He went on to say of learning how to see so much of the ball, with a talismanic role being taken on with club and country: "I think soccer is a lot less about individual play: there’s much more teamwork. Compared to basketball, soccer is even more about instinct. You have to know where to position yourself in the box, because that’s where the goals are ultimately scored. Understanding how to occupy space, feeling it. And I think that’s my secret."

Pulisic will be hoping to star for Milan again when they face Juventus in Turin on Sunday. Success in that contest would allow the Rossoneri to remain top of the Serie A table heading into the latest international break.

Piecing together a title challenge should also help to convince Pulisic that he is in the best place heading forward, with a new contract - on improved terms - yet to be signed despite said offer having been on the table for some time.