Lionel Messi reduced a radio host to tears after sending him a heartfelt WhatsApp voice note after listening to an emotional overview of his career.
Messi, 35, is still revelling in the fallout of Argentina's historic World Cup win. La Albiceleste became world champions for just the third time in their history last weekend when Messi inspired them to victory in one of the greatest World Cup finals ever against former champions France in Qatar.
Victory at the Lusail Stadium ensured that Messi could capture the one major accolade that has managed to elude him during his illustrious career - with many now convinced that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has now cemented his spot as one of, if not the, all-time footballing greats.
Unsurprisingly, the Paris Saint-Germain superstar has been a hot topic since Argentina's triumph - and one local radio station captured Messi's attention courtesy of an emotional rundown of the Argentinian icon's story.
The Perros de la Calle program, which runs on Argentine radio station Urbana Play, released a snippet from a story based around Messi's career called 'Lionel's Suitcase': which covers everything from Messi's progression through the Barcelona youth ranks to his brief retirement from international football back in 2016.
The story, which was written by Hernan Casciari, also touched on some of the struggles Messi faced during his time international career and became even more poignant after it concluded with a letter sent to Messi by a 15-year-old Enzo Fernandez, who lifted the World Cup with Messi less than a week ago, urging his idol to return to the international fold 'for fun '.
Join the debate! Do you think Messi is the greatest player of all-time? Let us know here.
Marca have now revealed that Messi heard the story, which reduced him and his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, to tears at the breakfast table. In turn, Messi decided to send Casciari and show host Andy Kusnetzoff a touching message thanking them and admitting it had made him and his wife cry - a revelation which then caused both Kusnetzoff and Casciari to cry on air.
It emerged earlier this week that Fernandez, who was crowned as the young player of the tournament after thriving in Qatar, had penned an open post begging Messi to stay in the international fold after he admitted that he was contemplating retirement.
“Please don’t go, Leo,” Fernandez wrote in an open letter on Facebook in 2016 as Messi mulled over his future, with the then-Barcelona star adamant that his time with Argentina was "over" after losing the 2016 Copa America final.
“Seeing you play with the light blue and white is the greatest pride in the world. Stay and have fun.”
