🚨🎙️ ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIĆ ON LIONEL MESSI'S INFLUENCE ON ARGENTINA AFTER THEIR WIN OVER AUSTRIA:
“I'm obsessed with watching Messi.
Not because he's my friend.
Not because of nostalgia.
Because after all these years, I'm still trying to understand how one player can control a football match without touching the ball every minute.
I watched Argentina today and the first thing I noticed wasn't the scoreline.
It was the way Austria reacted whenever Messi moved.
One step to the left, defenders follow.
One drop into midfield, the entire shape changes.
One glance over his shoulder panic.
That's not football.
That's psychological warfare.
And that's why I laugh when people reduce him to goals and assists.
They don't understand what they're watching.
Messi isn't just Argentina's best player.
He's Argentina's system.
He's their confidence.
He's their belief.
He's the reason every teammate walks onto the pitch thinking the impossible is possible.
People ask me about the GOAT debate.
What debate?
Seriously.
What debate?
For me, there isn't one.
The debate exists because television needs content and social media needs arguments.
When I watch football, I don't see a debate.
I see Messi.
Then I see everybody else.
That doesn't mean other legends weren't incredible.
It means I've never seen another player influence a match, a team and an entire generation of football the way Messi has.
And today was another reminder.
He didn't need a hat-trick.
He didn't need to score from 40 yards.
He just needed to be Lionel Messi.
And suddenly Argentina looked like a completely different team.
That's greatness.
Not when everything depends on you.
When everybody becomes better because you're there.
I've played against great players.
I've played with great players.
But Messi is the only player I've ever watched and genuinely thought:
'This isn't normal.'
The scary thing?
Opponents know exactly what he's going to do.
And they still can't stop it.
That's why I don't waste my time with comparisons anymore.
Some players become legends.
Some players become icons.
Messi became a category of his own.
And after today's performance, if you're still asking me who the greatest footballer of all time is...
You're asking the wrong question.
The right question is:
Will football ever produce another one like him?”
COMUNICADO OFICIAL
Ante la información que ha trascendido en las últimas horas, el Club Atlético River Plate desea dejar en claro ante sus socios, socias, hinchas y ante toda la comunidad del deporte su vínculo con la Asociación del Fútbol Argentino.
Desde el año 2013, River Plate ha sostenido una mirada clara sobre el rumbo que debe tomar el fútbol en nuestro país. En ese sentido, el Club ha promovido de forma permanente, entre otras cosas, la necesidad de consolidar una competencia profesional con un torneo de 20 equipos, acompañado por una generación de recursos que permita el crecimiento del conjunto de los clubes que integran nuestro fútbol.
Asimismo, River Plate ratifica su histórica defensa del modelo de asociaciones civiles sin fines de lucro y, al mismo tiempo, expresa su reconocimiento a la Asociación del Fútbol Argentino en la defensa del régimen de aportes previsionales vigente para la actividad.
River Plate cree profundamente en el armónico funcionamiento de las instituciones y en el valor de los órganos colegiados para la toma de decisiones. No obstante, entiende que en el actual funcionamiento del Comité Ejecutivo no existen las garantías procedimentales necesarias para asegurar un proceso claro y previsible en la toma de decisiones de ese cuerpo.
Nuestra institución considera que las discusiones sobre el futuro del fútbol argentino deben darse mediante procedimientos claros y previsibles: con los temas incorporados en el orden del día con su debida antelación y sometidos a votación de los miembros correspondientes. En reiteradas ocasiones, la dinámica de funcionamiento observada no ha reflejado esos mecanismos, resultando en procesos menos claros que aquellos a los que River Plate está acostumbrado en el funcionamiento de su propia Comisión Directiva.
Por este motivo -y hasta tanto no se corrijan los mecanismos antes mencionados- el Club ha decidido no participar de las reuniones del Comité Ejecutivo de la Asociación del Fútbol Argentino.
Tirar bengalas y parar 9 minutos el partido cuando vas perdiendo y tenés a tu rival sufriendo cada ataque. No queda otra que darle la razón al caballero.