๐จ Di Maria on the strange way Argentina played against Spain
๐๏ธ โLook, people see 90 minutes on TV and think thatโs the whole story, but football at that level isn't just about what happens on the pitch. What happened before that final against Spain... it wasn't normal.
In 2022, you saw fire in our eyes. But in that tunnel against Spain? Cuti posting that weird 'forced to finish second' message after the loss, Enzo and Licha literally in tears in the dressing room before the kickoffโnot from emotion, but from frustration. Leo missing every single shot in the warmup, looking completely drained, and then posting 'whatever happens tomorrow' instead of what he wrote last time with 'I'm ready'? Come on man.
You don't just forget how to play overnight. There were people in suitsโwhether it was mafia, the powers at the top, or whoever runs the show behind the curtainโwho had already written the script. Argentina was brought there to hand over the torch, not to win. We were told, without it being explicitly said, that Spain had to be the champions. And when you're playing against 11 men on the field and an entire invisible empire off it, you realize some matches are decided long before the whistle blows."
Leo Messiโs letter to all Argentinians the night before the World Cup Final. ๐ฉต๐ค๐
โThe most beautiful thing about all these years was ๐ง๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฒโ.
โSharing day-to-day life with this group, competing together, picking ourselves up in the difficult moments, and ๐๐ง๐ฃ๐จ๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฉโ.
โThanks to each one of my teammates, to the coaching staff, and to all the great people who work every day to keep this National Team as a ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒโ.
โWhatever happens tomorrow, this group has already written ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ง๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ญ and that no one will be able to eraseโ.
โ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐, ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โ.
A few days ago, people were running an Mbappรฉ Ballon dโOr campaign despite him going trophyless last season. Their whole argument? His World Cup performances. Now those same people are against Messi winning the Ballon dโOr on the exact same premise. ๐๐๐๐
Can you imagine anything worse for a top footballer than being forced to stay on at a tournament after being knocked out, to see whoโs the best loser in the 3rd place play-off? My deepest sympathies with Harry Kane and the boys. Must be awful.
To build an argument against Lionel Messi, you talk about:
โ Pelรฉ for the World Cups
โ Cristiano Ronaldo for the goals
โ De Bruyne for the assists
โ Neymar and Maradona for the dribbling
โ Zidane and Iniesta for the playmaking
โ Xavi and Kroos for the passing
โ Ronaldinho for the magic
โ Beckham and Juninho for the free kicks
โ Ronaldo Nazรกrio for the individual brilliance
โ Cruyff for the footballing influence
โ Modriฤ for the midfield longevity
โ Dani Alves for the trophies
โ Ramos for the decisive moments
โ Pelรฉ and Maradona again for the international legacy
It takes an entire museum of football legends to recreate the qualities Lionel Messi carries in one body.
You bring a different legend for every category.
Messi brings himself.
The debate was over before it began. ๐ฆ๐ท๐