Pele wanted fierce rivals Argentina to win the World Cup because ‘Lionel Messi deserved it’
On 29th December 2022, the footballing world lost a true icon of the sport as Brazilian legend Pelé passed away aged 82 after a lengthy illness.
Pelé was the original footballing GOAT, and he was the player footballers were first compared to, much like modern day players are compared to the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
During the final month of his life, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar was also taking place and although of course Pelé wanted his native Brazil to win the tournament, he was also happy for another nation to win it on behalf of one special player.
That nation was Argentina, even despite the historic rivalry between the two nations, and it was all because Pelé wanted Messi to finally get his hands on the ultimate footballing trophy.
Why did Pelé want Argentina to win the World Cup?
This is all according to Pelé’s daughter Kely Nascimento, who recounted the icon’s preferences via an Instagram post.
According to Kely, Pelé’s message of support for Argentina was also passed on to Messi before the Brazilian’s death via Messi’s wife Antonela Roccuzzo.
In Kely’s Instagram post of her alongside Rocuzzo, she had this to say: “Story time: This is the very beautiful and graceful Antonela Roccuzzo, Messi’s wife.
“I didn’t have the opportunity to meet Messi so when I met her in that magical place of every party (the ladies’ room) I passed him a message through her.
“By the time Brazil lost against Croatia my dad was getting a lot worse. Everybody wanted Brazil to win this cup for my dad, nobody more than the national team!
“But my father understood better than most what football is like. And it was really this possibility that any team could win that he always talked about that he loved about this beautiful game.
“After the defeat of Brazil every person who entered that hospital room (all day and every day until the final!!!) said: “Hey Pele? Now who do you want? Of course Argentina NO!
“And he would say “Argentina yes! This cup has to stay in South America and Messi deserves it!
“Everyone was pretending (and sometimes not pretending) horror!!! HOW?! Argentina!!!?
“And he would simply say “yes, Messi deserves it”
“He wasn’t getting to watch TV in the final anymore, but he understood that Argentina won and Messi got to lift the cup, and he was happy.
“Long live football”
On his way to lifting the trophy, Messi became the first player to score in every stage of a World Cup and also won the Golden Ball as Argentina ended their 36-year wait for the trophy.
It really is a heart-warming story, one of the all-time greats wanting a rival nation to win for the legacy of another all-time great.
