FIFA World Cup champion Lionel Messi has been invited to leave his mark at the hall of fame of the famous Maracana Stadium in Brazil, joining his footprints along with many other stars.
The 35-year-old scored seven goals on the way to Argentina's 2022 World Cup campaign as they beat 2018 champions France 4-2 in the penalty shootouts of an exhilarating final.
After the victory, the Rio de Janeiro State Sports Superintendence, who are responsible for running the stadium, previously asked Messi to join these legends after initially making the offer after Argentina won the Copa America in 2021.
"Messi has already demonstrated his importance on and off the pitch. He is a player who has been at the highest level in the history of football for years," said Adriano Santos, the president of the superintendence, in a letter sent to Argentina captain Messi through the Argentine FA (AFA).
"And nothing could be more fitting than for the Maracana to also pay tribute to him. After all, Messi is a genius with the ball," he added.
It was at the historic Maracana Stadium that Argentina beat Brazil in the final of the 2021 Copa America which also hosted the World Cup finals in 1950 and 2014. If Messi does choose to accept this invite, his footprints would be immortalised alongside Brazil greats Pele, Garrincha, Rivelino and Ronaldo, Chile's Elias Figueroa, Serbia's Dejan Petkovic, Portugal's Eusebio, Uruguay's Sebastian Abreu and Germany's Franz Beckenbauer.
As Messi and his Argentine teammates landed in the country with the coveted trophy, thousands of fans lined up in the middle of the night to try to get a glimpse of their favourite team as they won the greatest World Cup finals of all time.
But the team was unable to complete their World Cup victory parade as their bus was held up by huge crowds in the capital city. Millions of people took to the streets to welcome the World Cup heroes home, hoping to get a glimpse of Lionel Messi and the trophy.
The sheer number of supporters in attendance made for dangerous scenes after a national holiday was declared two days after the victory over France in the final in Qatar. Social media footage showed members of the public attempting to jump into the Argentina bus as it made its way along the planned route.
Attempts to continue were eventually abandoned, with a helicopter tour the alternative following a lengthy pause in proceedings.
