elz

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Argentina3 - 0Benin

ernad@ernad

☆☆☆☆☆★★★★★22h ago

The little boy from Rosario... 🇦🇷💔 Džeko and Messi retiring just before my 18th birthday. I'm taking this personally.

Friendlies

Argentina3 - 0Benin

taha@taha

☆☆☆☆☆★★★★★22h ago

Well, this is one of those days in football I never wanted to witness, but sadly, it has arrived. You’re not leaving the game entirely, but stepping away from international football feels like the first step toward that day, which I can hardly bear to think about. Maybe the funniest way to honor you is to recognize what you did for millions of people: you made us willingly tune in and support Argentina, all to watch you play this little sport called football. I’m not Argentine, but somewhere along the way that stopped mattering. When you played, we all became a little bit Argentine. I’ll never forget the highs and lows I experienced following you. The 2014 World Cup final, when you were so close to conquering the sport so early on in your career. The back-to-back Copa América finals lost on penalties. But you deserved more than that. You got more than that. You finally lifted your very first international trophy in 2021. Of course I’ll always remember 2022, the greatest World Cup campaign I’ll ever witness, with the most entertaining final of all time. Then we got another Copa in 2024. You literally won every trophy that you lost, how perfect was that? After years of people saying you couldn’t do it for Argentina, you won everything there was to win. But the trophies aren’t what I’ll remember most. It’s the way you played, the way you always entertained me. The dribbles that made defenders look lost, the passes no one else could see, the free kicks that felt like penalties the moment the referee blew the whistle. You made the impossible look routine, and you did it with a quiet humility that made billions fall in love with you. This summer’s ending was bittersweet, and honestly, part of me wishes you’d won it. But you had nothing left to prove. You gave me more than I ever had the right to ask for: the story of your career. There will never be another player who can do what you did. You are football. You are eternal. Thank you for everything, Leo.

Friendlies

Argentina3 - 0Benin

elz@elz

☆☆☆☆☆★★★★★22h ago

Boy oh boy where do I even begin. Lionel... honey, my pookie bear. I have loved you since I first laid eyes on you. The way you glide past defenders and strike fear into your enemies' eyes. Your perfectly dewy symmetrical shimmering touch on that football, your gorgeous little left foot, and that devastating dribbling. I would do anything for you. I wish it were possible to freeze time so I would never have to watch you retire. You had a rough childhood, but you never gave up hope. You are even amazing off the pitch, you're a great friend, father, captain, sometimes I even call you my honey bunch sugar poo cutie pie. I forever dread and weep, thinking of the one day you will retire from club football. I would sacrifice my own life if it were the only thing that could put a smile on your beautiful face. You have given me so much joy, and heartbreak over the years. I remember when you lost the 2014 World Cup final and it's like my heart broke into a million pieces and I couldn't go back. But a poo still fell from my right eye when I saw you finally lift that beautiful World Cup trophy in Qatar, because deep down, my glorious king deserved it. I just wanted you to be happy. But alas, you did, my sweet babypoo was happy and I rejoiced. That night was a hard night for us baby, but the dawn afterwards you made history happen. You became a World Cup champion. I couldn't believe it. I was crying, bawling even, and I heard my glorious king lift that trophy while the entire world watched. Not only have you changed the art of football and the world forever, but you've eternally changed my world. The goals, the assists, the trophies, the impossible dribbles, the free kicks, the little celebrations. eveery single moment has been engraved into my poo. And now you've gone to the twilight of your career, but still the goat, MY goat. I love you (poo)kie bear, my glorious king, Lionel Messi.