Messi's best friend unexpectedly becomes Vice President of the Argentine Football Federation

Mr. Riquelme, 46 years old, is currently the President of Boca Juniors Club. When he was still playing, this former player played alongside Messi to win the gold medal in men's football at the 2008 Olympics, and played for FC Barcelona from 2002 to 2005. During his career with the Argentine national team, Riquelme played 57 times, scored 17 goals and attended the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Messi and Riquelme are very close

Photo: B/R Football/instagram

Riquelme is considered a talented player of Argentina and the world football. He considers Messi as a part of himself, but especially more outstanding thanks to his innate and unique talent. The relationship between Riquelme and Messi is extremely close.

In the match that officially bid farewell to his career after many years of inactivity, Riquelme waited for Messi to fulfill his dream of winning the 2022 World Cup, which was held at the legendary La Bombonera stadium of Boca Juniors Club nearly 2 years ago.

Meanwhile, current AFA President Claudio Tapia is preparing to run for a third term, but no one is running to compete. Therefore, this 56-year-old president will officially work for a third term starting from October 17 until December 2028. Mr. Claudio Tapia also appointed Riquelme as the new Vice President of AFA during this term.

Riquelme said: "No one is more deserving than Claudio Tapia to be President of the AFA. He has rebuilt Argentine football, put his trust in coach Lionel Scaloni, and revived Messi after a period of crisis due to consecutive failures in the national team. This has laid the foundation for a brilliant cycle of success for Argentine football with the World Cup championship (2022), consecutive championships of 2 Copa América (2021 and 2024), and the Finalissima championship title (2022). Claudio Tapia must continue with the current project towards the 2026 World Cup and open a new cycle for the 2030 World Cup".

Young Messi playing alongside Riquelme at the 2008 Olympics

The presence of Riquelme in the AFA apparatus, along with the team is a coaching staff consisting of many famous players such as Pablo Aimar, Roberto Ayala, Walter Samuel, all of whom have close relationships with Messi. This shows that Argentine football today has the shadow and influence of Messi. At the training area of ​​the Argentine national team in the AFA headquarters, it is also currently named after Messi.

It is expected that during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America in early October, Messi will be called back to the Argentina national team and it will also be an opportunity to congratulate his close friend Riquelme on becoming Vice President of the AFA, journalist Gaston Edul said.

In addition, Gaston Edul also revealed that if Messi and Inter Miami win 3 of the remaining 6 matches in the MLS, they will win the Supporters' Shield (for the team with the highest achievement in the entire MLS with 29 clubs in the qualifying round). Thereby, they will have a place in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup as the host team representing the United States to host the tournament.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ban-than-cua-messi-bat-ngo-tro-thanh-pho-chu-cich-lien-doan-bong-da-argentina-185240917103235229.htm