Tag: Messi

  • Lionel Messi wins FIFA Player of the Year award for record third time

    Lionel Messi wins FIFA Player of the Year award for record third time

    Argentina’s star footballer Lionel Messi has won the 2023 FIFA Player of the Year award for a record third time.

    The FIFA Awards ceremony was held in London on Monday, in which the best players of the year were honored with awards.

    In the Men’s Footballer of the Year category, tough competition between France’s Mbappe, Norway’s Erling Holland and Lionel Messi ended with the Argentinian beating his rivals.

    Messi previously won the Men’s FIFA Player of the Year award in 2019 and 2022.

    Portugal’s Ronaldo has also won the FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award twice.

    However, Messi has now won the award for the third time, surpassing Ronaldo to become the player who has won the award the most times.

  • Messi’s shirts fetch $7.8 million at auction

    Messi’s shirts fetch $7.8 million at auction

    Six shirts worn by Argentina megastar Lionel Messi during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar have sold for $7.8 million at auction.

    The auction house told AFP on Thursday “A total of three bids were made for the rare collection, Lionel Messi’s light blue and white striped Argentina jersey worn in a historic 2022 FIFA World Cup match.”

    The auction house stated that the hefty price broke the record for any item associated with the world-famous Argentine star, making it the most valuable sports item sold at auction so far this year.

    On December 18, 2022, Messi led his team to a 4-2 victory on penalties while playing against France at the 80,000-capacity Lucille Stadium in Qatar.

    Sotheby’s head of modern collections Wachter said, “The 2022 FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest events in sporting history, connecting with Messi’s incredible journey and cementing his status as one of the greatest players of all time,”

    “It is an honor for Sodeby to present and showcase this invaluable collection to the public.”

    “These historic shirts are a tangible reminder of one of the most important moments in sports history and fundamentally about one of the most honored, most important moments in a football player’s career,” he said.

    Earlier this month, Messi was selected as Time magazine’s “Athlete of the Year” for 2023.

  • Argentina may put Messi’s picture on banknote

    Argentina may put Messi’s picture on banknote

    The Argentine Central Bank has proposed putting Lionel Messi’s photi on their 1000 peso banknote after the country won the FIFA World Cup. As reported by financial newspaper El Financiero, the proposals have been made by the Central Bank officials of Argentina.

    “Capturing Lionel Messi’s face on the thousand-peso bill, since it is important for officials that the figure begins with a ’10’,” wrote El Financiero.

    The proposal to place Messi’s face on the bank notes was, according to the publication, made “jokingly” by central bank officials.

    “And before you think otherwise, this option was ‘jokingly’ proposed by members of the Argentine Central Bank, although the most enthusiastic directors, such as Lisandro Cleri, a fervent supporter of Boca Juniors, and Eduardo Hecker, a follower of Independiente, agreed on that a bill with this design would awaken the collecting spirit of Argentines,” wrote El Financiero.

    The Argentina Central Bank previously created commemorative coins following Argentina’s 1978 World Cup victory. Additionally, commemorative coins were produced in honour of Eva Perón, the former First Lady of Argentina, on her passing.

  • The significance behind the black cape Lionel Messi wore at the FIFA world cup ceremony

    The significance behind the black cape Lionel Messi wore at the FIFA world cup ceremony

    The most significant part of the FIFA world cup ceremony was when Messi had been invited to the stage to receive the trophy, the King of Qatar had given him a black cape to wear before he lifted up the world cup to celebrate with his team members.

    Since yesterday social media users, mostly people in the West, were mostly expressing disappointment about Messi’s pictures being ruined by a black cape and even saying that it had ruined a significant moment for the football player. Many Arab critics and journalists were quick to highlight the racism in the media coverage of the West, and its overt disregard for Eastern culture and tradition.

    As Eastern journalists and critics had shared, every time the FIFA world cup would take place in different countries, the winner would be crowned according to the traditions of the host. For instance in 2004 when the Olympics were hosted in Athens, the winners were crowned with an olive wreathe. But the negative coverage over Messi wearing the bisht is proof of how racism in the Western media will remain an unresolved issue

    The black cape that Messi had worn on the final ceremony is called the bisht and historically, it holds a lot of significance within Arabic culture. The bisht is worn by Arabian warriors after a victory. At the ceremony, when the King of Qatar had given Messi the cloak, it was giving someone the highest form of respect and signified him as the King of Football.

  • Lionel Messi’s World Cup win Instagram post crosses 45 million likes

    Lionel Messi’s World Cup win Instagram post crosses 45 million likes

    Lionel Messi finally received the World Cup trophy in what he declared to be his final game, regardless of the win.

    While the match appeared to be a straightforward victory for Argentina over a fatigued France team for much of the final, Kylian Mbappé’s extraordinary brace at the start of the final 10 minutes of regulation time transformed the game into a nail-biting thriller that has been hailed as one of the greatest World Cup finals of all time.

    Messi himself scored twice, including a goal late in extra time that appeared to finally give Argentina the victory. But Mbappé scored from a penalty spot seconds later to seal his hat-trick and trigger a penalty shoot after the game finished 3-3. Argentina ultimately won the penalty shootout 4-2 thanks to goals from Messi and Mbappé, who are also Paris St. Germain colleagues on the club level.

    He next shared pictures of himself rejoicing with the trophy along with a heartfelt Instagram post in which he congratulated his teammates, family, and Argentina’s supporters.

    Although it could be his last World Cup game, he still plans to play for Argentina. “WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!!! I dreamed it so many times, I wanted it so much that I still haven’t fallen, I can’t believe it,” Messi said in Spanish.

    “Thank you very much to my family, to all who support me and also to all who believed in us. We demonstrate once again that Argentines when we fight together and united we are capable of achieving what we set out to do. The merit belongs to this group, which is above individualities, it is the strength of all fighting for the same dream that was also the dream of all Argentines… We did it!!! GO ARGENTINA!!!!! we are seeing each other very soon,” Messi wrote in his latest Instagram post.

    The latest post currently has more than 45 million likes, making it the most popular Instagram post from a sportsperson.

    A post featuring Messi also held the previous record, but it was posted by his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The picture appeared to show Ronaldo and Messi engaged in a game of chess.

  • ‘What a nail-biting economic situation of Pakistan under your government’: Pakistanis react to PM’s tweet congratulating Argentina

    ‘What a nail-biting economic situation of Pakistan under your government’: Pakistanis react to PM’s tweet congratulating Argentina

    Tweeting about the “nailbiting” final, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised Messi for his performance. The PM also added that the “upsets” by Saudi Arabia and Morocco are the highlights of the tournament for him.

    It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia defeated World Cup winner Argentina early in the tournament, and Morocco shocked everyone as they finished fourth, defeating the likes of Spain, Belgium, Portugal, and Canada in the tournament.

    Pakistan’s PM added, “Congratulations to Qatar for successfully holding the mega event…Upsets by Saudi Arabia and Morocco remain highlights of the tournament for me.”

    Following his post, a number of users began to say that he should focus on the situation of the country instead of enjoying sports. Some recommended that he concentrate on the economy, while others advised him to pay attention to what was happening in Bannu.

  • Saudi Crown Prince Salman ‘sajday mein chalay gaye’ after historic victory against Argentina

    Saudi Crown Prince Salman ‘sajday mein chalay gaye’ after historic victory against Argentina

    Saudi Arabia’s football team pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport by defeating Argentina with two second-half goals in their opening FIFA World Cup match in Qatar on Tuesday.

    The victory did not just drive Saudi fans into a frenzy but was also celebrated by the Kingdom’s normally staid and reserved royal family.

    Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, watched the match along with family members. Following the victory, the crown prince got overwhelmed and prostrated before God.

    It’s a public holiday tomorrow in Saudi Arabia after FIFA win

    The Saudi government has declared tomorrow, Wednesday, a holiday to mark the historic FIFA win.

    The holiday will be applicable to all employees in both public and private sectors, as well as all students across the country.

    This isn’t the first time a public holiday has been declared after a World Cup win. Cameroon’s stellar performance against Argentina in the opening match of the 1990’s tournament also received similar reactions after the Central African nation pulled off a miraculous win.