The US soccer scene welcomed an international superstar in the form of Lionel Messi. Now the Argentine captain is channeling an American icon to celebrate a win. The Inter Miami star celebrated a milestone at the Ballon d’Or Awards night. He commemorated the event with a nod to the legendary Bill Russell. This comes after the soccer star has drawn some comparison to .
Bill Russell is the model of greatness. In a 13-year career, he set records nobody could match in the NBA. He’s a true American icon and sports fanatics are awed by Messi exuding 72% of that.
Lionel Messi has another record-breaking achievement to top a glorious year. After leading Argentina to a World Cup win in 2022 and signing with Inter Miami in the USA, Messi has won the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time. He beat Manchester City’s Erling Haaland to set the record for most wins.
Adidas to the achievement by gifting Messi eight gold rings to symbolize each of his Ballon d’Or wins. He did a photoshoot with the symbolic present to complement it. One picture that made the final cut is giving us throwbacks to the legendary Bill Russell.
Though three rings short of the basketball superstar, Messi re-enacted one of the most memorable images of the late Bill Russell. Russell had worn his NBA championship rings and posed with his hands on his face for maximum flex. Messi too held his face between his ring-clad face to exude that same winning mentality.
In his 13 seasons with the , Russell won more rings than he had fingers. After retiring in 1969, he commemorated his championship run with a photoshoot in 1996. He flaunted his rings delicately whether holding them all in his palms or daintily holding his face like an ’80s cover model.
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Messi has recreated that GOAT in his newest photo spread. Whether it’s intentional or accidental, fans don’t mind. They love the resemblance.
This isn’t the first time Messi has been compared to Russell. However, it’s the best one yet.
Back in 2022, Messi was drawing comparisons to other legends while on his World Cup run. The parallels though were exceeding sports.
Russell passed away on July 31, 2022 at the age of 88. Not only the NBA world but athletes across every arena paid tribute to the legend. More of his memorable persona was revised in the 2023 Netflix documentary. Russell himself had input in it before his passing.
Bill Russell remains inimitable in magnitude and greatness. But Lionel Messi’s tribute comes pretty close.
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