The new AFA housing complex for the players in Ezeiza will be called Lionel Andrés Messi.
At Saturday’s ceremony, AFA President Chiqui Tapia paid tribute to the best player in the world with a statement. It was attended by the Argentina national team as well as his former teammates from the 2014 World Cup and local league players.
AFA President Claudio Tapia opened the ceremony and said:
“Today is a very special day for our football and for our home.” Thank you to those present, leaders and our league captains.
“In 2017 we had to start rebuilding our football and that was the building. It will become the new home of the national teams with three floors of hotels, a training and high performance centre, equipment, meeting rooms, recovery rooms and an auditorium.
“It is not only about the inauguration of this project, but also about the Ezeiza housing complex, which will bear the name of Lionel Andrés Messi.”
Lionel Messi also spoke at the ceremony. Messi, surrounded by his current teammates in the Argentina national team, had this to say:
“I want to thank (AFA president) Tapia for the recognition, which is very exciting. I have been going to the camp for almost 20 years and from the first day I entered I felt a very special energy.
“Knowing that the residential complex will be called Lionel Andrés Messi is something very nice. It’s special because of what it means and because of the number of players that come through.
“I’ve been through tough times, it was getting here and feeling lucky to be in this place.” I’m one of those people who think tributes should be paid while alive and this recognition is special and means a lot.”
Messi’s former teammates from the Argentina national team, notably from the 2014 World Cup, were also present. Mariano Andújar, Javier Mascherano, Sergio Romero, Marcos Rojo and Maxi Rodríguez were present at the announcement.
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