Lionel Messi looked close to tears during incredible tribute from reporter

Lionel Messi featured in an emotional interview after his incredible performance for Argentina vs Croatia.

Messi scored once and produced an amazing assist during the 3-0 victory which saw La Albiceleste reach the World Cup final.

It was a stunning display from the 35-year-old as he took another step closer to completing football by winning the sport’s ultimate prize.

After the final whistle, Messi took the acclaim of the tens of thousands of Argentina fans inside the Lusail Stadium. They knew they had just witnessed something special.

But the recognition of his performance didn’t stop there.

In fact, during a post-match interview, Messi was showered with praise by a female reporter.

After conducting a normal interview, an Argentine journalist just wanted to pay her own tribute to Messi for leading the country to a World Cup final.

What followed was an emotional speech that left Mesi seemingly close to tears.

Messi left close to tears during emotional tribute from reporter

The speech has been translated and says: “The last thing I want to tell you and it’s not a question, but I just wanted to say: The World Cup final is coming and sure, we all want to win the cup.

“I just want to tell you that no matter the result there’s something that no one can take from you and is the fact you resonated with Argentinians, every single one. I’m being serious. There’s no kid who doesn’t have the team 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, that to me is beyond winning any World Cup. No one can take that from you and this is my gratitude.

“For such amount of happiness you bring to a lot of people, I seriously hope you take these 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.”

The whole time, Messi is looking into the reporter’s eyes and almost looks shy and the words coming out of her mouth.

It really was a beautiful moment.

What did Messi say after the match?

“I am enjoying this World Cup a lot. I am feeling really good and strong enough to face anything,”  Messi said.

“It wasn’t easy. We were tired but we found our strength to earn the victory. We finished the game in a very good way and I feel very happy now.

“This squad goes beyond the collective. It’s intelligent and clever. We can read games and we know how to suffer when necessary and what to do with the ball when it’s needed. We have played excellent technical football.

“We know what to do in every moment of the game. We know how to win. We knew we would have to run. We knew their strengths. We knew they would have possession.

“The first game when we lost to Saudi Arabia was hard for us because we had been unbeaten for so long. It was such a hard blow.

“To come back has proved how strong we are. It’s been difficult as every game has felt like a final. That’s been a heavy mental load. We have played and won five finals and I hope it’s the same in the last game. We were confident we would make it as we understand the fine details. We have grown a lot in this tournament.”

Source: Givemesports