The statue will stand at the federation’s museum at the South American Football Federation (CONMEBOL) headquarters in Luque, Paraguay.
The body governing South American football, CONMEBOL, is set to honor Argentine superstar Lionel Messi with a statue next to two of the game’s greatest icons, his countryman Diego Maradona and Brazilian great, Pele, arguably the two greatest players to ever play the game.
The statue will stand at the federation’s museum at the South American Football Federation (CONMEBOL) headquarters in Luque, Paraguay.
The life-size statue depicts Messi holding a replica of the World Cup trophy and was unveiled in a ceremony on Friday.
Messi ended Argentina’s 36 year wait for the World Cup after steering the side to victory in last year’s tournament play in Qatar.
In doing so, he emulated the great Maradona who Argentina to their previous World Cup triumph way back in 1986.
"I had never dreamed or thought about this," Messi said. "My dream was to enjoy what I liked when I was little, to be a professional soccer player, to do what I always loved in this life.
"I had a very long road, many decisions and defeats, but I always looked ahead and wanted to go for a triumph, for a victory.
Messi has scored 99 goals for his country and would become the first Argentina player to net 100 international goals if he scores in Tuesday's friendly against Curacao.
The honors continue to flow in for the 35 year old Paris St. Germain maestro who has been linked with a return to his previous club side, Barcelona, upon expiry of his current deal.
The Argentine Football Federation renamed the national team's training facility after Messi last Saturday, two days after he scored his 800th career goal in a 2-0 friendly win over Panama.
Gotta love how the rest of the world honors their heroes, this is definitely food for thought for Kenyan sports federations and organizations.
Ni hayo tu kwa sasa!