Rio Ferdinand on Lionel Messi refusing to take a selfie with Benin players after his farewell match:
Rio Ferdinand:
“For years, Messi has allowed the world to believe he is this incredibly humble guy who gives everyone access to him.
But tonight, I think we saw another side of him.
After a farewell game like that, players from Benin came over to take selfies with him. They weren’t coming over to disrespect him. They weren’t trying to interrupt anything.
They were coming because they respected his career.
They wanted one picture with Lionel Messi.
And he couldn’t even give them that.
For me, that says a lot.
Because when the cameras are on you, when the world is celebrating you, when everyone is telling you how great you are, humility is easy to talk about.
The real test is how you treat people who have nothing to offer you.
These players weren’t asking Messi for money. They weren’t asking him for a contract. They weren’t asking him to promote them.
They simply wanted a memory.
And he turned them away.
A month ago, he publicly called himself the GOAT — something football fans have debated for years — and now, after his farewell match, fellow professionals approach him with respect and he can’t even acknowledge them properly?
As a former player, I find that difficult to accept.
You can have the greatest career imaginable.
You can win everything.
You can score hundreds of goals, lift World Cups, win Ballon d’Ors and become one of the most famous athletes on the planet.
But none of that gives you permission to forget humility.
Because football will eventually take everything away from you.
The goals stop.
The trophies stop.
The stadiums stop singing your name.
The cameras move somewhere else.
And when that happens, the only thing left is the person you were when nobody needed anything from you.
That is why moments like this matter.
People will remember Messi’s football forever.
But they will also remember how he treated people.
And if you want to be remembered as the greatest, then greatness cannot only exist when you’re holding a trophy or standing in front of a camera.
You have to be great when nobody owes you anything.
That is one problem I will always have with Messi.
The football can be beautiful.
The career can be unbelievable.
But when ego starts becoming bigger than humility, eventually it makes even the most beautiful legacy smell different.
And tonight, for me, that was the disappointing part.
The players wanted a memory. Messi had the opportunity to give them one. He chose not to.”