Lionel Messi has carried forward the legacy of his hero Diego Maradona with the #10 jersey. The Argentinian also added his legendary status to the already iconic jersey. While sporting a #10 jersey became a habit, the soccer veteran faced an uncomfortable situation when he moved to France. He has admitted that he missed wearing his favorite jersey, a number that Neymar already had, during his stint at PSG.
The Argentine did win trophies and find success at PSG with the #30 shirt. However, was it really the same without 7 written on the back of his jersey?
Lionel Messi expresses awkward situation at PSG after wearing the #10 jersey ‘all his life’
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Lionel Messi shocked the soccer world after signing for PSG on a free transfer in 2021. It happened after he and Barcelona could not agree on an extension of his contract. Soccer fans had to get used to the reality of Messi playing for another club other than Barcelona. However, to make things a little more weird, PSG announced that he would wear the #30 jersey. While the fanbase surely felt weird about the same, the soccer veteran recently revealed how he felt about losing ‘his number’.
He said, “When I was in Paris, I didn’t wear the 10 shirt. Well, I was used to always wearing the number 10 shirt from all those years in Barcelona on the national team. Although it wasn’t a big deal, I kind of missed a little not having “my number”, right? Because I have worn it all my life, but it’s ok, then I got used to it too. And the number 30 was special for me too. I started playing with the number 30. My first game with the number 30. So it has something special too”.
Without a doubt, Lionel Messi would have been relieved after he got his favorite jersey number back at Inter Miami. Early on in his career, it was quite the responsibility to handle the added pressure that came with the iconic number. However, just like Diego Maradona, his name has also become synonymous with the phrase ‘#10 jersey’.
Lionel Messi aces the iconic #10 responsibility, making the number his very own
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During his time at Barcelona, Brazilian legend Ronaldinho decided to give his #10 jersey to Lionel Messi before leaving. He wanted the Argentine to take forward the legacy of the number at Barcelona. Since that moment, Lionel Messi scored 672 goals and also won 35 trophies while he was at Barcelona. He also had the same responsibility with the Argentina national team. He wanted to take forward the legacy of his hero and soccer legend Diego Maradona.
After Maradona’s retirement, it was hard to believe that anyone would do better than him in the #10 jersey for Argentina. However, Lionel Messi recently closed that discussion once and for all. Mainly because he has remained the highest goal scorer in the nation’s history and also brought back home the FIFA World Cup after 36 years.
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Who do you think is the greatest #10 of all time? Let us know in the comments below.
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