SUMMARY
- Messi was a key player for Argentina's victory in the World Cup 2022.
- Messi used to be compared to Maradona, but lately he is getting more praises dues to the number of achievements.
Lionel Messi’s triumph in the 2022 FIFA World Cup ensured that the forward would go down as one of the best players in Argentine history. Throughout his career, the former Barcelona player has been compared with Diego Maradona due to the 1986 World Cup glory of Argentina with Maradona.
However, the narrative has changed since the 2022 World Cup. Fans and experts are putting Messi above Maradona for the national due to his superior numbers and trophy cabinet. The same sentiment was voiced by the president of the Argentina Football Association (AFA).
Argentina Football Association (AFA) has decided to retire the number 10 jersey
Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia, the president of AFA, spoke to an Argentine newspaper back in January to reveal that the association has decided to retire the iconic number 10 jersey for the national team. The number 10 in Argentina has been worn by some of the biggest players of all, including Diego Maradona, Juan Román Riquelme, Pablo Aimar, and Mario Kempes.
🚨 BREAKING: Argentina are set to RETIRE Number 10 Jersey once Messi retires! 🤯
🗣️ “When Messi retires from the national team, we will not allow anyone else to wear the number 10 after him. The ’10’ will be retired for life in his honour.” said AFA president Tapia. [Via: Marca] pic.twitter.com/uXy0xBCq6g
— Pubity Sport (@pubitysport) December 31, 2023
However, AFA wants to end the long-lasting legacy of the number 10 with Lionel Messi. As per Tapia, the decision to retire this number is to honor Lionel Messi’s services to the national team. The Inter Miami superstar has 180 matches for the national team, in which he has scored 106 goals.
Messi has been the main figure in the national team since 2008 and has helped the country to win a World Cup, a Copa America, an Under-20 World Cup, and an Olympic medal. The statistics and trophy cabinet prove that Messi is the greatest number 10 on the national team. However, fans have argued against this decision of AFA.
Fans argued against the decision
The news wasn’t accepted with open arms by the fans. The general argument against the decision is if the number 10 is retired, then any future superstar cannot add to the legacy of this iconic number. Some fans provided a logical argument that if AFA had decided to retire the number in honor of Diego Maradona, then Messi would not have added to the legacy of his career.
[Marca] AFA president Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia: “When Messi retires from the national team, we will not allow anyone else to wear the number 10 after him. This number ’10’ will be retired for life in his honour. It’s the least we can do for him,”
byu/OPchainsaw insoccer
A similar argument came forward when Brazil was contemplating retiring the number 10 for Brazil in honor of Pele, their greatest-ever player. However, an old interview with the legendary player revealed the forward was against retiring the number because in his opinion every child should be allowed to dream to wear the number 10.
Lionel Messi has not commented on the issue so far as the decision is yet to come into force. However, the matter will bubble up again when the Argentine forward will retire for the national team. It is doubtful that Messi will agree with AFA to retire the number.