Messi and Mbappe, with their respective teams Argentina and France, created the most dramatic and captivating World Cup final ever on December 19, 2022 (Vietnam time) at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar. The 2022 World Cup title fulfilled all Messi's dreams in his career.

The Legends' World Cup Journey

Messi's Dream Come True

At the age of 37, Messi emerged victorious over the 25-year-old when they both donned the PSG jersey. It was the first time he hoisted the World Cup trophy after a series of thrilling penalty shootouts (4-2 score). "I love December and Christmas. Two years ago, it could have been the most bitter end of the year, but in the end, it was the most beautiful month in my sports career. And now, every December, this memory comes back to me. Congratulations on the two World Cup championships with everyone!" Messi wrote on his Instagram with accompanying photos sitting beside the championship cup and his familiar mate tea.His wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, also posted a similar photo but showed Messi using his phone and directly posting the photos that his wife might have taken and uploaded to Instagram to commemorate this historical milestone in the player's career when his World Cup dream was fulfilled.

Mbappe's Quest for Victory

On the same day of December 19, Mbappe, the French player, watched Messi and the Argentine team hoist the World Cup trophy two years ago with a heavy heart. However, he also won the championship right on the Lusail Stadium in Qatar when his club Real Madrid won the Intercontinental Cup. "This time I won on the Lusail Stadium. The Intercontinental Cup is back with Real Madrid. The second championship cup in the season," Mbappe wrote on his Instagram timeline. In this way, as if to forget the previous failure and start a new journey in his career after parting ways with PSG just after nearly a year when Messi also bid farewell to the Paris team.

Messi's Copa America Glory

Along with the World Cup championship, Messi and the Argentine team have won the Copa America twice. Among them, the second time in 2024 will be held in the United States.The allure of Messi has led MLS clubs to choose large stadiums to host Inter Miami in 2025. Recently, the Columbus Crew has decided to choose the stadium of the American football (NFL) Cleveland Browns, Huntington Bank Field, as their home stadium when hosting Messi and Inter Miami in the 2025 season.Previously, the Columbus Crew usually played on the Lower.com Field in Columbus with a seating capacity of only 20,000. But in the future, this team will choose a stadium with a seating capacity of up to 67,431 to host Messi and his teammates. The great attraction with Messi's playing presence made the capacity of the Lower.com Field unable to meet the demand. Therefore, the Columbus Crew has decided to choose a stadium three times larger than their familiar home stadium to meet the viewing needs.The 2025 season is also the last year of Messi's contract with Inter Miami. But the team's leadership is preparing to have conversations with Messi to activate the extension clause to 2026 and sign another year until 2027 when the player will pass the age of 40.