Argentina sensation Lionel Messi showed his emotions last night in what proved to be a real landmark moment in his career.
The Barcelona legend has had quite the year thus far with a move to Paris Saint-Germain and a Copa America triumph being at the forefront of that. Alas, given COVID-19 restrictions and the tournament being held in Brazil, the 34-year-old hasn’t really been able to celebrate the accomplishment with the people of his homeland – until now.
The true GOAT
Argentina beat Bolivia 3-0 on Thursday with Leo grabbing an invaluable hat-trick, and in doing so, he managed to surpass Pele as the all-time top international goalscorer in South America.
When you piece that together with the Copa America celebrations that went down after the full-time whistle, we’re going to go out on a limb here and suggest that this was one of the greatest nights of Lionel Messi’s career.
Tears in his eyes ?
— Goal (@goal) September 10, 2021
Argentina finally got to celebrate their Copa America with their fans ?
And it meant the world to Lionel Messi ? pic.twitter.com/lWepuEXjbG
7⃣9⃣ Lionel Messi ??
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) September 10, 2021
7⃣7⃣ Pele ??
6⃣9⃣ Neymar ??
⚽️⚽️⚽️ A treble against Bolivia has seen Lionel Messi become South America's highest men's international goalscorer
? We pay tribute to the @Argentina maestro with quotes, stats, trivia and highlights
? https://t.co/tAOu3znjaS pic.twitter.com/9bksfbqRXB
Many fans want to wait and see what the Argentines can produce at next year’s World Cup in Qatar before declaring Messi the “greatest of all time” but right now the debate feels somewhat redundant. There are always going to be critics who throw Diego Maradona, Pele and even Cristiano Ronaldo into the debate and rightly so, but conversations like that can be reserved for another day.
At this moment, the main focus needs to be on Messi and how his legacy continues to grow.
His attention will now turn back to Ligue 1 as PSG prepares to host Clermont Foot tomorrow.
Featured image credit: Getty
