Messi and Mbappe, with Argentina and France respectively, created the most dramatic and exciting World Cup final of all time on December 19, 2022 (Vietnam time), at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.
The 37-year-old player defeated his 25-year-old junior, who was also playing for PSG, to win his first world championship after a penalty shootout (4-2).
“I love December and Christmas. Two years ago, it could have been the bitterest last month of the year, but it ended up being the best month of my sporting career. And now, every December, this memory comes back to me. Happy 2nd anniversary of winning the World Cup with everyone!”, Messi wrote on Instagram, along with photos of himself sitting next to the championship trophy and his familiar pot of mate tea.
Messi’s wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, also posted a similar photo, but it shows Messi using his phone and personally posting photos that were probably taken by his wife on Instagram, to celebrate the player’s historic milestone when his dream of winning the World Cup was fulfilled.
“Two years ago, we witnessed the best and most dramatic World Cup final in history, ending in a nerve-wracking penalty shootout, after also witnessing a breathtaking score chase with 6 goals scored in regular and extra time,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino shared in a message also posted on his Instagram social media account.
Coincidentally, on the same day, December 19, Mbappe, the player with the French team who sadly watched Messi and the Argentine team win the World Cup 2 years ago, also won the championship right at Lusail Stadium in Qatar when he and Real Madrid won the Intercontinental Cup.
“This time I won at the Lusail stadium. The Intercontinental Cup is back for Real Madrid. The second trophy of the season,” Mbappe wrote on his Instagram timeline. Through that, he seemed to want to forget the failure 2 years ago, with a new journey in his career after saying goodbye to PSG Club just after 1 year after Messi also said goodbye to the Paris team.
Most recently, the Columbus Crew Club has decided to choose Huntington Bank Field, home of the American football team (NFL) Cleveland Browns, as its home stadium when hosting Messi and Inter Miami in the 2025 season.
Previously, Columbus Crew usually played at Lower.com Field in Columbus, which has a capacity of only 20,000 seats. But in the near future, this team will choose Huntington Bank Field, which has a capacity of up to 67,431 seats, to host Messi and his teammates.
The huge attraction of Messi’s presence made the Lower.com Field unable to accommodate the capacity. Therefore, Columbus Crew decided to choose a field 3 times larger than their usual home field to meet the needs of the audience.
The 2025 season is also the final year of Messi’s contract with Inter Miami. But the team’s leadership is preparing to negotiate with Messi, to approve a plan to activate the extension clause until 2026 and sign another year until 2027 when the famous player turns 40.
