Enzo Fernandez bids farewell to Messi: I fulfilled this ridiculous dream thanks to you
Childhood dream
Enzo Fernandez has sent a heartfelt message to Lionel Messi after the Inter Miami star announced his retirement from international football. The Chelsea and Argentina midfielder poured his heart out to his former captain.
Writing on his Instagram account, Fernandez said: "Leo.. when you said before that you would retire from playing for the national team, I felt deeply sad."
He added: "I was just a young boy, and I used to calculate the gap between your age and mine to see whether I would ever be able to play alongside you. It might sound silly, but I really did it. I used to think about how many years you might have left, and how many years separated me from reaching the first team, and I dreamed that we would wear the Argentina shirt together, even just once... and luckily you came back."
The midfielder continued: "Life ended up being far more beautiful than that boy was able to imagine.. I didn't just get to play with you, but we shared training camps, the dressing room, the conversations, the embraces, the difficult moments, the wonderful moments, and we ended up world champions together."
Gratitude poured out next. "But above all, I will always be grateful to you for the way you treated me from the moment I arrived. I came carrying the dream of sharing the pitch with my role model, but I found a person who, from the very first moment, made me feel like one of everybody. You always had a kind word, a piece of advice, an embrace, or simply the way you make me feel calm when I need it.. I will never forget that."
He went on: "It is hard for me today to imagine the next camp without you. To walk out onto the pitch and not see you in front of me, wearing the number 10 shirt. We have been used to seeing you there for so many years that it seems impossible to imagine it any other way."
Reflecting on his own journey, Fernandez wrote: "How lucky I was, Leo, and how lucky that boy was, the one who used to count the years without knowing whether he would one day arrive in time."
He signed off: "Thank you for treating me the way you did, for everything you taught me, and for allowing me to be part of your story.. we will miss you greatly, captain."
Messi's own statement, published on his Instagram account, set the emotion in motion. "After all this time has passed since the final match, and after long reflection, I want to announce to everyone that I have decided to retire from playing for the national team."
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner added: "It was a painful decision and it still hurts me deep down, but I realise that the time has come. I swear to you that I always gave everything I had, not only during the recent years in which we won everything, but before that too, and I always fought and gave everything I have for this shirt, and to make you happy and make you feel proud of being Argentinian through football."
