When Argentina won the Qatar World Cup four years ago, everyone assumed it was Lionel Messi’s last. But brushing age aside, Messi took Argentina to the final of the North American World Cup at 39. Even in defeat to Spain as runners-up, he was football’s artist on the green. By the 2030 World Cup Messi will be 43, and the likelihood is that he will not be seen on the world stage at that age. Yet even without the legend, Argentines are dreaming of seeing his son Thiago in the sky-blue-and-white shirt at the next World Cup.
Messi’s eldest son Thiago is 13. Because of his age, a piece of arithmetic has caught the attention of Argentine supporters and stirred fresh hope. The 2030 tournament is the World Cup’s centenary edition. By then Thiago, eldest son of the Rosario-born superstar, will be an adult, turning 18 in November 2030. Hence the dream Argentine football lovers are building around Thiago Messi.
The arithmetic causing a storm on social media is much discussed. The most optimistic supporters say that if Thiago maintains his form and moves quickly into professional football, the dream of sharing a dressing room or a pitch with his father in the national team is not impossible. The 13-year-old is currently taking his first lessons in football at Inter Miami’s youth academy, where his performances are being watched closely by fans who want to see the Messi family’s reign continue.
Although Thiago was born during Lionel Messi’s colourful years at Barcelona, the young player has made his position on his international future clear several times. He could play for Spain if he wished. But in several interviews with the media Thiago has himself stressed that following his father’s path and wearing the Argentina national shirt is his only goal. In short, he has expressed the wish to play in the same team or on the same pitch as his father for the national side — which has become the greatest symbol of hope for Argentine supporters around the 2030 tournament.
The Messi family shows a deep love of sport as well as football. All three brothers — Thiago, Mateo and Ciro — played at football’s early levels in childhood and are showing flashes of their talent at a young age.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Thiago currently plays in the youth academy of Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami in the United States and has won a title with its under-14 side. But fans and football analysts alike are aware of the harsh realities of top-level football. They accept that reaching the legendary heights their father attained is an extremely hard test. For supporters it is a matter of enjoying a wonderful possibility, not loading extra pressure or a burden of responsibility onto young Thiago at the start of his career. For now, time will tell whether this colourful dream of Albiceleste supporters comes true on football’s biggest international stage.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report