Lionel Messi stepped out of Diego Maradona's shadow when he led Argentina to the World Cup title last year and celebrated by placing his statue next to those of his compatriot and Pelé in the CONMEBOL museum. A life-sized statue of Messi holding the World Cup was unveiled at a ceremony at the CONMEBOL headquarters in Paraguay before the draw for the Copa Libertadores took place last night.
Messi led Argentina to their third World Cup title in history, and the first after a 36-year wait, in Qatar last December. Messi commented, "I never dreamed or thought about this; my dream was to enjoy what I loved since I was a child, which is to be a professional player and do what I love in my life. The road was very long, with many decisions and defeats, but I was always looking forward and wanted to win."
He continued, "I think the most important thing is to fight for your dreams, that everything is possible, and that you should enjoy playing, which is the most beautiful thing."
The Argentine players and coaching staff received miniature replicas of the World Cup and the Copa América trophy, which the team won in 2021. The Argentine federation named the national team's training headquarters after Messi two days after he scored the 800th goal of his professional career during a 2-0 victory over Panama. Messi has scored 99 goals for Argentina and could become the first Argentine to reach 100 international goals if he scores against Curaçao in a friendly match today, Tuesday.
