Lionel Messi Hub 🇦🇷

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Gary Neville: “We’ll score at least two.” 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Joe Cole: “We’ll put Messi to sleep.” 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Troy Deeney: “We’ll batter Argentina 2-0.” 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿John Terry: “Player for player, England are better.” 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Ian Wright: “We’ll beat Argentina.” Five pundits. Five microphones. Five receipts waiting to happen. Lionel Messi is about to shut every one of these MFs up. 🇦🇷🐐

Every footballing giant met Messi for the first time with a question. Most left with an answer they never forgot. Real Madrid, aged 18: an assist in a 3-0 demolition at the Bernabéu. Mourinho’s Chelsea, aged 18: turned Stamford Bridge into his first great European exhibition during a 2-1 victory. Bayern Munich: two goals in a 4-0 destruction. Arsenal: Phil Thompson claimed Rooney was “streets ahead of Messi.” Messi replied with FOUR goals in one night. Manchester United: the final was billed as Messi vs Ronaldo. Messi scored the goal that sealed the European Cup. Andy Gray wondered whether he could do it on a cold night in Stoke. Messi answered English football with 27 goals in 35 matches against its clubs. Now England face him for the first time. Joe Cole: “We’re going to put him to bed. 100%.” The opponent changes. The pundit changes. The question never does: “Can Messi do it against us?” Twenty years later, football still hasn’t learned: Never ask that question unless you’re prepared to become the answer. 🇦🇷🐐

89' 🇫🇷France 1 - 1 Spain 🇪🇸 Mikel Merino is about to be substituted Didier Deschamps :

It took football more than 20 years to give us Lionel Messi vs England. Then it waited until he was 39. Then it made it a World Cup semi-final. In 1986, Maradona left England the Hand of God. Four minutes later, he left them the Goal of the Century. Now Messi gets his first and perhaps only chance to write his own chapter in Argentina’s most historic rivalry. One match. One place in the final. One last masterpiece for Argentina’s No.10. Diego wrote the first immortal chapter. Now history has handed Messi the pen. 🇦🇷🐐

“We’re going to put Lionel Messi to bed. We’re going to put him to bed, 100%.” — Joe Cole. They always talk before facing Messi. Before the 2022 quarter-final, Louis van Gaal said Messi did little when Argentina lost the ball and claimed the Netherlands had “a score to settle.” Dutch goalkeeper Andries Noppert backed himself to stop Messi from the penalty spot. Messi answered with a goal, one of the greatest World Cup assists ever, the Riquelme celebration in Van Gaal’s face and sent them home. Every World Cup, it’s the same story: “We’ll stop Messi.” “We’ll expose him.” “We’ll send him home.” Now England are doing the talking. They never learn. England have 90 minutes to prove Joe Cole right. Messi has spent 20 years making people regret speaking before the ball starts rolling. 🇦🇷🐐

Jordan Pickford, the man who actually has to stop Messi: “It’s great to finally come up against him after watching him as a kid.” Joe Cole, safely watching from a studio: “We’ll put Messi to bed.” The closer people get to actually facing Messi, the more respect they show him. The loudest confidence always comes from those nowhere near the pitch. 🇦🇷🐐

🚨 Thiery Henry post Argentina v Switzerland 🚨 " Julián Álvarez really stepped up when it mattered, scoring that decisive goal against Switzerland. It's moments like these that show a player's true character. But let's not forget Messi's role in creating the opening goal. At 39, his vision and ability to influence the game without scoring are remarkable. Now, facing England in the semifinals, it's not just about Messi being two wins away from another World Cup. It's about how he elevates the entire team with his intelligence and creativity. Football is an art, and Messi paints it beautifully, making the complex look simple. That's the magic of the game. In the end, it's about the joy and inspiration he brings, not just the records. That's what truly defines greatness."

Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored his FIRST & LAST World Cup knockout goal.🔥🔥 Unfortunately, this is the company he entered: 🇨🇦 Stephen Eustáquio — 2nd World Cup 🇯🇵 Kaishu Sano — 1st 🇧🇷 Gabriel Martinelli — 2nd 🇳🇱 Cody Gakpo — 2nd 🇲🇦 Issa Diop — 1st 🇳🇴 Erling Haaland — 1st 🇪🇬 Emam Ashour — 1st 🇲🇽 Julián Quiñones — 1st 🇲🇽 Raúl Jiménez — 4th 🇵🇹 Gonçalo Ramos — 2nd 🇪🇸 Mikel Merino — 1st 🇪🇸 Fabián Ruiz — 1st 🇧🇪 Charles De Ketelaere — 2nd 🇳🇴 Andreas Schjelderup — 1st 🇦🇷 Cristian Romero — 2nd 🇦🇷 Enzo Fernández — 2nd 🇫🇷 Ousmane Dembélé — 3rd And then: 🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo — 6th World Cup. He needed: • 23 years • 27 World Cup appearances • Six tournaments • A newly introduced Round of 32 • And a penalty against Croatia …just to achieve what several debutants managed at their first attempt. Portugal were eliminated in the very next round, leaving him with ONE knockout goal in his entire World Cup career. Messi completed football before Ronaldo completed the knockout-stage tutorial. 😭😭😭

This is not just a World Cup semi-final. This is Argentina and England reopening 60 years of football, politics, pain and revenge. 1966: Rattín was sent off at Wembley in one of the most controversial moments in World Cup history. 1982: the wounds of the Malvinas War changed this rivalry forever. 1986: Maradona answered with the Hand of God and the Goal of the Century. 1998: Argentina survived the chaos and eliminated England on penalties. 2002: England finally got its revenge. And now, 24 years later, they meet again. Diego’s final World Cup was cut short in 1994. He never got to finish his last dance. Now Messi, at 39, walks into this semi-final carrying Diego’s unfinished story, the weight of the No.10 and the hopes of an entire nation. One match from the final. One last dance. One old enemy standing in the way. For Argentina. For the Malvinas. For Diego. For history. This is not just a road to the final. It is 60 years of history arriving at Lionel Messi’s feet. 🇦🇷🐐

Diego Maradona needed four minutes to become football’s greatest villain and its greatest genius. First came the “Hand of God.” He used his left hand to beat Peter Shilton, then described it as “a little with Maradona’s head and a little with the hand of God.” Against England, only four years after the Malvinas War, so many Argentines saw the goal as symbolic revenge too. Four minutes later, he collected the ball inside his own half, tore through five England players, rounded Shilton and scored the "Goal of the Century". The most controversial goal in World Cup history. Then the greatest. That was Diego: chaos, defiance and pure genius in the same shirt. England never forgot those four minutes. Now Lionel Messi has one last chance to write Argentina’s next chapter against England. 🇦🇷

Cristiano Ronaldo’s most ruthless fact-checker has always been Cristiano Ronaldo. “South America only has Brazil and Argentina.” Then, Colombia tested him: “Colombia are a very strong team.” “I want to retire with dignity, not in the USA, Qatar or Dubai.” Then he joined Al Nassr and celebrated the Saudi league like the World Cup. He mocked Xavi: “He plays in Qatar or I don’t even know where.” Then finished his own career next door in Saudi Arabia as the league’s loudest salesman. He called Iceland’s celebrations in Euros 2016 “small mentality.” Iceland finished above Portugal, while Portugal escaped the group in third place without winning once. He predicted Juventus would win the Champions League within two years. They went out to Lyon and Porto in consecutive Round-of-16 ties. He mocked players for leaving Europe. Then left Europe. He dismissed South American football. Then reality forced the respect out of him. Ronaldo never needed haters. At this point, Ronaldo’s biggest rival isn’t Messi. It’s the search bar.

🚨 Zlatan Ibrahimovic post match analysis of Arg v Switzerland🚨 "Messi's influence is clear even without scoring. He created the opening goal, showing his intelligence on the pitch. Julián Álvarez deserves credit for the decisive goal. He took his chance and made it count. Now, Argentina faces England, and Messi is just two victories away from another World Cup at 39. It's a huge moment for him, but England will be ready. It's now not just about Messi; it's about the whole team stepping up. That's what will decide the match."

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@NealGardner_ Argentina Spain can win next one

Who would you back as Barça fans *if* it’s an Argentina-Spain final?

The biggest UCL robbery wasn’t even on the pitch. It was convincing an entire generation that Ronaldo won those titles “without a system.” 2016 final: Ramos’ opener against Atlético stood despite being offside. 2017 vs Bayern: the tie was level, Vidal was wrongly sent off, Casemiro escaped a red—and Ronaldo scored TWO offside goals in extra time. 2018 vs Juventus: Madrid blew a 3-0 lead and survived through a controversial 93rd-minute penalty, with Buffon sent off for protesting. 2018 vs Bayern: Marcelo’s handball was ignored at 1-1. Even Marcelo admitted it should’ve been a penalty. All while surrounded by Kroos, Modrić, Casemiro, Benzema, Bale, Ramos and Marcelo. He wasn’t bigger than the system. He was the poster boy of the most protected one Europe has ever seen.

Ronaldo fans really picked the worst World Cup to start crying about “easy routes.” Portugal’s BEST-CASE knockout path had they simply won their group: 🇬🇭 Ghana — #73 🇩🇿 Algeria — #28 🇪🇬 Egypt — #29 Three straight opponents outside FIFA’s top 20. Argentina’s actual path: 🇨🇻 Cape Verde — #67 🇪🇬 Egypt — #29 🇨🇭 Switzerland — #19 Portugal had an even softer path sitting right in front of them. All they had to do was WIN their group. Instead, they drew Colombia, finished second, landed Croatia and Spain, and went home. Argentina won their group, beat every team that earned its place in front of them, and now face #4 England in the semi-final. The route was never the problem. Messi won his group, handled every team in front of him and kept moving.🇦🇷🐐 Ronaldo had the softer road in his own hands, bottled the group and got sent into retirement.

Lionel Messi confronted 🇵🇹Portuguese referee João Pinheiro during Argentina’s World Cup quarter-final against Switzerland, demanded respect to his face and walked away without even a booking. Cristiano Ronaldo was booked for dissent against Georgia at EURO 2024 after another arm-waving meltdown over a penalty appeal. That’s the difference. Messi says it once and the referee gets the message. Ronaldo spends five minutes waving his arms, screaming and sulking, and still gets treated like background noise. That’s the difference between being respected and desperately demanding it.

@PolymarketSport @FabrizioRomano THE GOAT

🚨Lionel Messi to the Portuguese referee: “Do not disrespect me” (per @FabrizioRomano)

@NoodleHairCR7 cry more c**

🚨 Argentina first ever team in World Cup history to reach Semi Final without facing a Top 10 team.