Enzo Fernandez says he feels “very lucky” to have shared Argentina’s shirt, dressing room and World Cup triumph with Lionel Messi after the Inter Miami forward announced his retirement from international football.
The Chelsea and Argentina midfielder addressed Messi in a heartfelt message on Instagram, recalling how he once calculated the age gap between them while wondering whether he would ever play alongside his idol.
“Leo… when you said before that you would retire from playing for the national team, I felt deeply sad,” Fernandez wrote.
“I was a young boy, and I used to calculate the difference between your age and mine to see whether I might one day be able to play alongside you. It may sound silly, but I really did it; I thought about how many years you might have left, and how many years separated me from reaching the first team. I dreamed that we would wear the Argentina shirt together, even if only once… fortunately, you came back.”
Fernandez, who joined Argentina’s senior set-up after establishing himself in the national team, said the reality far exceeded what he had imagined.
“Life ended up being much more beautiful than that young boy could have imagined. I did not just play with you; we shared training camps, a dressing room, conversations, hugs, difficult moments and wonderful moments, and we ended up becoming world champions together,” he added.
The 25-year-old also thanked Messi for the way he welcomed him when he first arrived with Argentina.
“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 idol, but I found someone who made me feel like one of everyone else from the very first moment,” Fernandez wrote.
“You always had a kind word, advice, a hug, or simply that way of making me feel calm when I needed it. I will never forget that.”
Fernandez said it would be difficult to imagine Argentina’s next training camp without Messi, particularly without seeing him wearing the number 10 shirt.
“Today it is difficult for me to imagine the next camp without you. To go out on to the pitch and not see you in front of me, wearing the number 10 shirt,” he said.
“We have been used to seeing you there for so many years that it seems impossible to imagine it any other way.”
He added: “How lucky I have been, Leo, and how lucky that young boy was who counted the years without knowing whether he would ever arrive in time.”
Fernandez ended his tribute by thanking the Argentina captain for his guidance and for allowing him to play a part in his career.
“Thank you for treating me the way you did, for everything you taught me, and for allowing me to share a part of your story,” he wrote. “We will miss you greatly, captain.”
Messi announced his decision in an official statement published on Instagram.
“After all this time since the final, and after a great deal of thought, I want to announce to everyone that I have decided to retire from playing for the national team,” Messi wrote.
“It was a painful decision and it still hurts me deeply, but I understand that the time has come. I swear to you that I always gave everything I had, not only during the past few years when we achieved everything, but before that as well. I always fought and gave everything I had for this shirt, to make you happy and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football.”
