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Reactions from football legends on Lionel Messi’s World Cup victory

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4 years ago

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Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images

The world witnessed history last night as Lionel Messi conquered his final frontier in the game of football, winning the elusive FIFA World Cup trophy, by leading Argentina to a penalty shootout triumph over France in the finals at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

It took five attempts for Messi to get across the final hurdle and complete football as such, as he brought home the World Cup title to Argentina 36 years after a certain Diego Maradona had done.

In light of the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s triumph in Qatar, tributes have been flowing in from all quarters. Former teammates, rivals, legends of football, superstars from other sports, and leading personalities from various fields across the world have been congratulating Messi on his accomplishments.

Pele, regarded as one of the greatest ever to grace the game of footballer, wrote a beautiful tribute on his Instagram.

“Today, football continues to tell its story, as always, in an enthralling way. Messi winning his first World Cup, as his trajectory deserved. My dear friend, Mbappé, scoring four goals in a final.

“What a gift it was to watch this spectacle to the future of our sport. And I couldn’t fail to congratulate Morocco for the incredible campaign. It’s great to see Africa shine. Congratulations Argentina! Certainly Diego is smiling now.”

Ronaldo Nazario, a World Cup winner himself in 2002, took to Twitter to hail Messi, stating that the what 35-year-old does on the pitch transcends rivalries as intense as the one between Brazil and Argentina. He wrote:

“The kind of football Messi plays throws any rivalry into the corner. I saw many Brazilians and people from all over the world supporting Messi in the final. A worthy farewell to this genius, who captained an era. Congratulations, Messi!”

Ronaldo’s former partner-in-crime for Brazil, and Messi’s ex-Barcelona teammate Ronaldinho also congratulated him on social media.

Real Madrid midfielder and Germany legend Toni Kroos, who was part of the Die Mannschaft side that had denied Messi the World Cup in 2014, also congratulated the Argentine captain, stating his triumph was fully deserved.

Messi also received congratulatory messages from former United States of America President Barack Obama, while his ex-Barcelona teammate and club legend Andres Iniesta also hailed his triumph.

Messi’s former Barcelona teammate and one of his closest friends, Luis Suarez, also took to social media to congratulate the Argentina captain.

Meanwhile, former Barcelona captain Carles Puyol summed up what the entire world was thinking in just two words, as he made the following post.

Former Manchester United superstar and ex-England captain David Beckham hailed Messi as ‘The King’ in his social media post. Interestingly, Inter Miami, co-owned by Beckham, have shown an interest in signing Messi next year, although an extension with PSG looks more likelier.

French legend Franck Ribery also posted a message for the 35-year-old, as did close friend and PSG teammate Neymar, whose Brazil side crashed out at the quarter-final stage.

There were messages from many of Messi’s former Barcelona teammates like Deco, Javier Mascherano, Pedro and Arda Turan among several others.

Many of the current Barcelona players also took to social media to congratulate the ‘GOAT’.

Tennis great Roger Federer, NBA icon LeBron James, and Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar also posted heartwarming messages to congratulate Messi.

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