Brazil have officially extended an invite to Argentina captain Lionel Messi to join an esteemed list of stars, including Pele, to receive a special tribute reserved for very few.
Argentina's success at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has, without a doubt, elevated the 35-year-old's legacy in football.
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The Paris Saint-Germain superstar has now won every available trophy in his glittering career after achieving his life-long dream of winning the World Cup on Sunday.
Having been immortalised in football history after his most recent accomplishment, many have hailed him as the greatest player of his generation and arguably of all time.
Brazil have since sent the Albiceleste talisman an invite to acknowledge his profound feat and career by having his footprints imprinted at the iconic Maracana Stadium's Hall of Fame in Rio de Janeiro, where the likes of Garrincha, Ronaldinho, and Ronaldo Nazario are also heralded.
"Messi has already demonstrated his importance on and off the pitch," the president of the Rio de Janeiro State Sports Superintendence said in a letter sent to Messi via the Argentine FA, according to Spanish publication SPORT.
"He is a player who has been at the highest level in the history of football for years. 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."
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In a press conference on Wednesday, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, who worked with Messi at FC Barcelona from 2008 to 2012, also weighed in on Messi's legacy as the greatest footballer in history.
"Everyone has an opinion but nobody can doubt that he is there, with the greatest of all time," the City manager said, according to the Daily Express.
"For me, I said many times, he is the best, but it will be difficult to understand.
"A player can appear and compete with what he has done in the last 50 years to 70 years, but the people who saw Pele or [Alfredo] Di Stefano or Maradona, they can say their favourite.
"In their opinions they are sentimental, you know? But on the other side, if he [Messi] had not won the World Cup, my opinion about what he has done for world football, it wouldn't have changed absolutely anything.
"Of course, for him it's the final achievement of an incredible career."
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