Messi is a dangerous player. If you watch that first goal again, you’ll notice he deliberately delayed the pass to Enzo until he had drawn every England player to himself. Only then did he release it. My God. It really is true that no one sees the game like he does.
David Beckham on England’s 2-1 defeat to Argentina after Lionel Messi inspired the comeback.
🗣️ “I’ll be honest I exploded when England scored. I was on my feet celebrating because I genuinely thought we had one foot in the World Cup final. Then I looked at the pitch and one thought hit me… ‘Messi is still playing.’”
“And that’s the mistake everyone makes. They celebrate too early against a man who has spent nearly twenty years destroying dreams. The scoreboard said England were winning. Messi’s face said, ‘This game isn’t over.’”
“I know Leo better than most because he plays for my club. I’ve watched him train, I’ve watched him prepare, I’ve watched him win. But even knowing how special he is, what he produced tonight still left me speechless.”
“England had the lead, the momentum and the crowd. Then Messi completely took over the match without even needing to score. Two assists. Two moments of pure genius. He ripped England’s belief apart and dragged Argentina into another World Cup final.”
“At 39 years old, he made some of the best defenders in world football look like they were chasing shadows. That’s frightening. Most players are retired by that age. Messi is still deciding World Cup semi-finals.”
“As an Englishman, this is heartbreaking. As a football man, I have to be honest I’ve never seen anything like him. You can have the perfect game plan, the perfect tactics and the perfect lead, but if Lionel Messi decides the story isn’t finished, he’ll rewrite the ending himself.”
“I celebrated England’s goal… and ten minutes later I was watching the greatest player I’ve ever seen tear our World Cup dream into pieces. That’s how ruthless he is. That’s why every generation will remember his name.”
“I wanted England in the final more than anything. But when Lionel Messi reaches this level, you stop watching a footballer… you’re watching football history being written right in front of your eyes.”
🩵🤍 Lionel Scaloni: “We are unique. We are unique, trust me. We go over the limits and our fans help us make history”.
“These players are impossible to explain”.
🚨 Harry Kane: "Last World Cup for me? Seeing Messi playing at 39 years old makes me not think about that."
"Messi is the best player in history, we tried to stop him as much as possible but every time the ball reached him he came back to life."