Ronaldo fans just wouldn’t understand this.
Out of the 17 Argentine players that played in the World Cup final against France, 14 of them were born between 1991-2001.
They were born well after the Maradona era and likely grew up watching and idolizing Messi.
Those players were between 10-20 years old when Messi dropped the greatest performance in Champions League final history in 2011 and was being called the best ever.
They were 13-23 when they saw him carry the burden of an entire nation only to come short in the final of the 2014 World Cup.
They were 15-25 when they saw him cry in the 2016 Copa America final after coming short again in their 3rd consecutive international final.
They saw his own people burning his jerseys and cuss him for not being able to end their trophy drought.
They saw the country’s footballing idol tell the team to not come back to Argentina if they failed to lose that final.
They watched their idol carry the blame for every defeat and never complain about it.
They saw him fall, get back up, and try again.
Over. And. Over.
FOUR consecutive international titles isn’t by coincidence.
Messi inspired an entire generation of footballers that are willing to go to war for him in every match.
Simply because they don’t want to see their idol fall again.
🚨🚨💣 HISTORIQUE !!! LIONEL MESSI 🇦🇷 DEVIENT, SEUL, LE MEILLEUR BUTEUR DE L'HISTOIRE DE LA COUPE DU MONDE !!!!! 🏆
IL DÉPASSE MIROSLAV KLOSE ET EST DÉSORMAIS LE SEUL HUMAIN À AVOIR INSCRIT 17 BUTS EN COUPE DU MONDE. 🔥🐐