Sport

Messi fights back the emotions as an impassioned reporter explains exactly what he means to Argentina

The little genius' impact not only his country but on football world as a whole cannot be overstated.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 14th December 2022

A TV reporter nearly left Lionel Messi in tears during a post-match interview in which she waxed lyrical about his incredible career and the impact it’s had on Argentina and the footballing world.

Journalist and compatriot Sofia Martinez spent little time talking about yet another magical Messi performance as the sporting icon starred to send his country into the 2022 World Cup Final, almost as if we’ve now become so used to it that it’s barely worth analysing anymore.

Instead, she chose to make the most of the opportunity and explain to the footballing genius exactly what he means to his country, to football and to the sporting world in general

This is a truly lovely watch.

You can see how much it means to the 35-year-old who has already admitted this is likely his last World Cup if not his last major international tournament altogether.

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As you can see, Martinez assures him that regardless of whether they lift the trophy, “there’s something that no one can take from you… it’s the fact you resonated with Argentinians, every single one.

“There’s no kid who doesn’t have your [shirt], no matter if it’s a fake, real or a made-up one. Truly, you made your mark in everyone’s life. And that, to me, is beyond winning any World Cup.”

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She goes on to add, “No one can take that from you and this is my gratitude, for the amount of happiness you bring to a lot of people.”

With Messi just smiling as he tries to keep it together, Martinez concludes by saying: “I seriously hope you take those words into your heart because I really believe that’s more important than winning a World Cup and you already have it. So thank you, captain.”

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It goes without saying that this deep affection for what many consider the GOAT goes far beyond national pride: the Argentina and Barcelona legend has inspired generations of kids to not only try and become footballers but play the beautiful game with more fluidity, creativity and freedom than ever.

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The Messi vs Ronaldo debate aside, he is an icon whose contribution to modern football, ability to create unforgettable moments and overall influence on the sport cannot be accurately measured.

‘La Pulga’ (‘The Flea’) has seemingly his last chance to lift the greatest trophy in sport on 18 December and no matter who Argentina face in the final, you know Messi will play more than his part in making it a memorable game.

He’s finally going to win it, isn’t he?

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Featured Image — TVP Argentina/@ksoolina (via Twitter)

Sport

Bernardo Silva refused to speak to Bruno Fernandes during the FA Cup final

Danny Jones Danny Jones Bernardo Silva pushes Bruno Fernandes FA Cup final

The first-ever Manchester Derby FA Cup final in history was always going to be an acrimonious affair, but one flare-up fans might not have expected came between midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva.

Man City took one step closer to winning the treble on Saturday — a feat which would see them equal United’s treasured achievement in 1999 — but at half-time, Bernardo Silva’s derby day mentality was well and truly locked in as the two Portuguese players had a little spat on the pitch.

With the United captain walking up to share a few words with his international teammate as they went to walk down the tunnel, City’s number 20 had no interest in chatting with his compatriot.

In fact, in a moment picked up by the cameras on the day, Bernardo not only did his best to ignore Bruno but even shoved him away when his opposite numbers tried to get his attention.

Bernardo Silva pushes Bruno Fernandes away as he tries to chat in the middle of the derby.

That’s an icy blue cold shoulder if we’ve ever seen one.

Despite apparently having been friends ever since they met in Portugal’s under-18s camp, it’s clear that City star Silva was fully focused on seeing out the result and had no time for pleasantries with the task still at hand.

Moreover, while Fernandes has previously insisted he has “a great relationship with Bernardo” and that the two share regular WhatsApp messages throughout the season, he did admit ahead of that game they “normally don’t speak” until after the full-time whistle these days.

That being said, it would seem only Silva got the derby day memo this time around and, much like City have been on the pitch for a good five or six seasons now, he chose to remain ruthless and quite literally push his friendship to the side.

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Although seeing rival players (often fellow countrymen or ex-teammates) greeting and hugging each other before, during and after a game is much more commonplace these days, it’s still one that split opinion — especially if you’re Roy Keane.

The United legend has previously slammed a number of players from his former club for being far too friendly in the tunnel before going up against each other — including in a Manchester derby not long ago — stating that they need to “cut that” and “just get down the tunnel”.

Nevertheless, it looks as though the more cutthroat attitude helped the Blues on the day, scoring within 13 seconds to set the tone for the rest of the game.

Pep Guardiola‘s side now only needs to win one more game, the Champions League final against Inter Milan this weekend, to do the treble and put themselves even deeper into the history books than they already are. Either way, many already believe Pep will go down as the greatest of all time.

Jamie Redknapp insists Pep Guardiola is the ‘greatest manager ever’

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Featured Image — BBC/@FutbolMuu (via Twitter)

Sport

Half-naked belly slides and cuddles with Elton John – the wild and wonderful Manchester City celebrations

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

There ain’t no party like a Manchester City party, it seems, with some big celebrations last night following the club’s FA Cup victory against Manchester United.

Players were seen swigging beers in their pants while other staff at the club did belly slides through the dressing room at Wembley.

And then, weirdly, they were congratulated by Sir Elton John himself, who offered hugs to every player in turn.

If you’re going to look anywhere for the Manchester City post-match party scenes, it’s straight to Jack Grealish, who always seems to be at the heart of the chaos (who could forget his antics at the parade last year?)

On his Instagram stories, Grealish nicely summed up the celebrations in the dressing room after their 2-1 victory.

He showed the players singing along to Wonderwall by Oasis and swigging Asahi, saying to the camera ‘Get it down ya!’.

Then he cuts to a video of Brandon Ashton, Man City’s kitman, doing topless belly slides across the floor.

Manchester City dressing room celebrations
Manchester City dressing room celebrations
Manchester City dressing room celebrations. Credit: Instagram, @jackgrealish
Manchester City dressing room celebrations
Manchester City dressing room celebrations. Credit: Instagram, @jackgrealish

At one point, Ederson (wearing a blue afro wig) is seen lubricating the floor with more Asahi, like some weird beer-soaked version of Curling.

Egged on by Erling Haaland and John Stones, Brandon strips down to his underwear and keeps sliding around, at one point travelling all the way under the benches, at which point Grealish hilariously shouts: “Oi, watch my Gucci bag, f***ing hell!”

Once the dressing room party was over, it was off to the airport, where the entire team ambushed none other than Sir Elton John.

On the strangely star-studded runway, the legendary musician – who had just finished his third gig at the AO Arena – stood in position offering hugs to each Man City player in turn.

Videos shared by the club show the bewildered Kevin de Bruyne, Manuel Akanji, Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake, and Julian Alvarez each taking turns for a cuddle, while Phil Foden stopped to take a selfie with the rock music great.

Then the lads all surround Elton to serenade him with his own iconic song, Your Song.

The surreal videos even captured the moment Pep Guardiola is left awkwardly hanging with his hand up when he offers Elton a high-five.

There’s now just one week to go until the Champions League final, when Manchester City will seek to cinch the treble.

Featured image: Instagram, Manchester City

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