"Messi has to win" - Pele wanted Argentina to win 2022 FIFA World Cup after Brazil's elimination, reveals daughter
Brazil's legendary footballer Pele wanted Argentina to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup for Lionel Messi, his daughter Kely Nascimento has revealed in an Instagram post. Pele passed away on December 29, 2022, just over a week after La Albiceleste lifted the World Cup.
Nascimento was part of the recent FIFA The Best award ceremony, where the Argentine talisman was named the Player of the Year. She met his wife Antonela Roccuzzo at the gala and told her why Pele wanted Brazil's arch-rivals Argentina to win the biggest prize in world football.
Taking to Instagram, she posted an image with Roccuzzo with the caption:
"Story time: This is the very pretty and kind Antonela Roccuzzo, Messi's wife. I didn't have the opportunity to meet Messi, so when I met her in the magical place of every party (the women's restroom) I passed on a message to him through her.
"When Brazil lost to Croatia, my dad was already getting worse. Everyone wanted Brazil to win the World Cup for my dad, no one more than the Selecao!
"But my dad knew better than most what soccer is like. And it was the possibility of any team being able to win that he would always say was what he loved about the beautiful game."
She continued:
"After Brazil's exit, everyone that came into his hospital room (all day, every day until the final!!!) would ask him: 'And now Pele? Now who do you want to win? Surely not Argentina!!!'
"And he would say, 'Yes Argentina! The trophy has to come back to South America and Messi has to win. Everyone would feign (and sometimes not even feign) horror! What?! Argentina?! And he simply would say, 'Yes, Messi wins.'"
Nascimento added that Pele couldn't watch the final due to his poor health but was aware that Argentina had won the trophy:
"He didn't ever get to watch the final on television but he knew that Argentina had won and that Messi had lifted the trophy, and he was happy."
Argentina icon Lionel Messi named FIFA The Best Player of the Year
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#TheBest FIFA Men’s Player Award 2022 goes to Lionel Messi! 🇦🇷 https://t.co/HXEugVH1t9
Lionel Messi was named the FIFA The Best Player of the Year at a recent ceremony for his exploits with Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) last year.
La Pulga was also named the FIFA World Cup's best player for leading Argentina to the trophy. He had scored seven and assisted three goals in 10 matches during the tournament in Qatar.
The superstar forward has also recorded 17 goals and 16 appearances in 28 matches across all competitions for PSG this term.