10/06/2026
I fell in love with football because of you, Messi.
I donโt even remember exactly when you stopped being just my favorite footballer. Somewhere along the way, your journey became a part of my life. Your happiness made me happy, and your pain hurt me too.
I was there for the heartbreaks.
Copa Amรฉrica 2007 โ Argentina reached the final, only to lose to Brazil.
Copa Amรฉrica 2011 โ another painful ending, losing to Uruguay in the quarter-finals.
Then came 2014.
The World Cup final against Germany. I still remember that night. I cried so much after Argentina lost. Seeing you walk past that World Cup trophy hurt in a way I still canโt properly explain.
But I never stopped believing in you.
Then Copa Amรฉrica 2015 โ another final, another heartbreak against Chile.
And Copa Amรฉrica Centenario 2016 โ Chile again. Another final lost on penalties. Seeing you cry after that match broke me. When you said you were leaving the national team, it felt like maybe the dream would never come true.
But you came back.
And so did we.
2019 Copa Amรฉrica โ another disappointment, Argentina losing to Brazil in the semi-final.
Year after year, people questioned you. They said you could do everything for Barcelona but couldnโt do it for Argentina.
But my faith in you never changed.
And then came 2021.
Argentina vs Brazil.
Maracanรฃ.
Copa Amรฉrica Final.
After all those years of pain, I finally watched you lift a senior international trophy with Argentina.
I canโt explain what that moment meant to me.
It felt like all those nights of sadness โ 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019 โ finally meant something.
And then came 2022.
The World Cup.
The trophy we had dreamed about for so long.
Argentina vs France.
December 18, 2022.
One of the greatest finals football has ever seen.
And this time, you didnโt walk past the World Cup trophy.
You lifted it.
The same person I cried for in 2014 gave me one of the happiest nights of my life eight years later.
And you still werenโt finished.
Copa Amรฉrica 2024 โ champions again. ๐
From watching you suffer with Argentina to watching you win Copa Amรฉrica twice and finally become a World Cup championโฆ I witnessed the whole journey.
And then 2026 โ one last World Cup journey, one last final, one last chapter. Whatever happened at the end, nothing could ever change what you had already given me.
Today, watching your last game, I thought I would cry.
But Iโm not crying.
Iโm happy.
Because how lucky am I?
I got to exist in the same era as Lionel Messi.
I watched the little boy from Rosario become the greatest player my eyes have ever seen. I witnessed the goals, assists, impossible dribbles, trophies, failures, tears, comebacks and finallyโฆ the glory.
People can debate the GOAT forever.
I never needed a debate.
I chose you.
I chose you after 2014.
I chose you after 2015.
I chose you after 2016.
I chose you when people laughed at your international career.
And I chose you when you finally lifted the Copa Amรฉrica in 2021, the World Cup in 2022, and another Copa Amรฉrica in 2024.
I didnโt choose you because you won everything.
I chose you even when you were losing.
And maybe thatโs why watching you finally win everything felt so personal.
My loyalty to Messi is immortal. It doesnโt end when you stop playing football.
You may leave the pitch, but you will never leave the part of me that fell in love with this beautiful game because of you.
If I had another life and had to choose my football idol all over again, knowing every heartbreak that would come with itโฆ
I would still choose you. Every. Single. Time.
Thank you for making me fall in love with football.
Thank you for the tears.
Thank you for the happiness.
Thank you for the memories.
And at the end of it all, I only have one question:
Who could possibly love you more than me?
Gracias, Leo.
Forever my No. 10.
Forever my idol.
Forever my GOAT. ๐๐ฆ๐ทโพ๏ธ
