I remember asking assistant coach Mo Cheeks, what’s harder to do? Workout after practice or before?? I only asked cuz by time I would get to the gym, Russ was already done in the morning and I usually got mine in after practice. Mo like, “coming in before practice is probably harder”…since then, it’s been my routine….a lot of people looked at the emotions on the court and thought Russ was loud, nah to me, he was quiet and methodical. He lead by example and once the lights were bright, he let everything out and experienced pure freedom. It was inspiring as his teammate and everywhere I went, I seen it inspire people from all walks of life, crazy thing is, he didn’t say much, he just showed up. For 18 years. This basketball life is sacred to us as professionals, what we put into that court means everything. Some of us wish we could go back and do things with a little more intent and some can just wipe their hands and be satisfied with the time spent. Who u gonna be? We know what zero was on…keep inspiring in the next phase of life champ. I don’t care what happens, can’t erase what it was…The first YNs, finals run in our early 20s, all star games, seeing each other get injured and bounce back, the bus rides, plane rides, card games, jokes and arguments, the whole thing, memorable!! …to the whole Westbrook family, Nina, the kids, mama Westbrook, big Russ, Ray, Donnell, everybody from luezinger high and ucla and many more that I’m forgettin, much love and Congratulations on a iconic career.
His father was unwell
Legs shattered
People running smear campaigns
Against all odds he dragged his team to a World cup final, Thank you for giving us one last memorable tournament ❤️
Lionel Messi’s letter for his father. ❤️🩹
Dad, I still can’t believe that you’ve gone. I don’t fall, or rather, I don’t want to fall. It’s very hard for me to imagine that I’m not going to see you anymore, that we’re not going to talk anymore. I know you were suffering and that it’s for the best, but you left too soon. We still had a lot left to enjoy together.
You asked me so much to play in the last World Cup, and it was in the days just before it started that you got the worst. It was the first time you weren’t going to be at a tournament, but Mom told me that you were going to get better and that you’d be well enough to travel. I told you we were going to reach the final so you could travel.
Every time a match ended I waited for and missed your message. That’s when I realized the situation was really bad. Even so, I didn’t stop thinking about going as far as possible, to buy you time and so you could see a match. We reached the final and you couldn’t be there.
I wanted to win it to bring it to you and show you a new one. I couldn’t; my legs wouldn’t give any more. This time I tried to go against my body, but I couldn’t. I never managed to feel good.
When I arrived you thought we had lost the final on penalties. We couldn’t talk about any of everything that happened. You couldn’t enjoy anything.
We weren’t champions, but you have no idea how much we enjoyed every single match. Once again, you were right: I had to be there and play it.
I’m telling you this because it was the only thing we couldn’t talk about, since you already know everything else. We talked every day and saw each other whenever we could, given my commitments.
I don’t know what I’m going to do without you, I don’t know how to go on. I only played football and now I have quite a few doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it for much longer.
You were by my side from the beginning; there was so little left until the end. Why couldn’t you hold on that little bit more so we could finish together?
I know your happiness was seeing your family well, your wife, your children, and above all, without the others finding out, watching me play…
It was always like that since I was little. You would take me to all the training sessions as soon as you got home from work. For many of them Mum took me because you were working.
Obviously you never missed a single match. How you suffered watching me and how you enjoyed it, even though you never gave me many compliments.
You were dad, friend and representative.
You were always the person you needed to be in every moment and you never got anything wrong. Beyond a few reproaches or arguments, you were always right. In the end it always turned out the way you said.
I’m going to miss you a lot, but you’ll always be present, and especially in the upbringing of my children, because I teach them and raise them the way you both did with me.
Rest in peace and look after us from above the way you did down here. Thank you for everything.
I love you, Dad. ❤️
Una cámara siguió a Lionel Messi durante el partido contra Inglaterra. Su genialidad, su esfuerzo, sus gestos, sus frustraciones momentáneas, su desahogo en el empate y su felicidad en el triunfo. También sus sonidos, incluso el disparo de las cámaras. Todo está ahí.
Es Messi jugando con una intensidad absoluta a los 39 años. Encarando a jugadores mucho más jóvenes y ganándoles, engañándolos, escondiéndoles la pelota. Es el fútbol que nos emocionó en este Mundial. El de un hombre que jugó así mientras la vida de su padre se apagaba.
Y entonces esa entrega adquiere otra dimensión. Es Messi ofreciendo el cuerpo a los otros, a esa excitación que se escucha cuando arranca con la pelota y el sonido del estadio se eleva. Por eso la gratitud eterna, aunque tantos, en tantos lugares, no lo entiendan. O no les interese entenderlo.
Fuente del video: YouTube/AntonioProds
“My Champions League debut was against Barcelona’s MSN. Everyone was scared to tackle Messi, so I thought, ‘I’ll do it.’ 😂 His first touch sent me flying. That dribble is still all over YouTube, and I even changed my hairstyle so people wouldn’t recognize me.”
— Alex Iwobi
@Expefutbol Llevo más de 3 décadas viendo fútbol y no me equivoco si digo que Thiago Alcántara es uno de los TALENTOS PUROS mezclados de CLASE INFERNAL más grande que he visto, era un deleite, pocos jugadores como él, una pena sus lesiones, ese jugador sano era inigualable
Nesta década, na Liga portuguesa, não existe nenhum jogador que ultrapasse o Pote em nenhuma destas estatísticas:
Golos
Assistências
G+A
Passes chave
Grandes oportunidades criadas
Títulos de campeão nacional
O jogador da década, obrigado por tudo 💚
A terrifying fact you should know:
Imagine a parallel world where 39-year-old Maradona was the best player at the 1998 World Cup and led Argentina to the final.
Where 39-year-old Zidane was the best player at the 2010 World Cup and led France to the final.
Where 39-year-old Ronaldo Nazário was the best player at the 2014 World Cup and led Brazil to the final.
Where 39-year-old Ronaldinho was the best player at the 2018 World Cup and led Brazil to the final.
Sounds absurd, right?
Yet that’s exactly what Lionel Messi did at the 2026 World Cup.
Messi’s longevity is something football may never witness again and to maintain that level at 39 years old is simply unprecedented. 🐐
🚨🚨| BREAKING: The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) names Lionel Messi — not Rodri — as the 𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 🇦🇷🎖️
The IFFHS award contradicts FIFA's Golden Ball award, which went to Rodri. 😳