Pelé congratulates Messi and Mbappé after World Cup final

One of the greatest football players of all time, Pelé, congratulated Lionel Messi and Argentina for winning the World Cup and Kylian Mbappé for his goal-scoring exploits in Sunday’s final.

Pelé, who won a record for possessing record three World Cups as a player, has been in the hospital to treat a respiratory infection.

Instagram post

Pele posted on Instagram following the World Cup final after Argentina beat defending champion France 4-2 in a penalty shootout following a 3-3 draw after extra time at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

Also read: Messi inspires Argentina to World Cup title in thrilling final in Qatar

“Today, football continues to tell its story, as always, in an enthralling way”, Pelé wrote in the post.

“Messi winning his first World Cup, as his trajectory deserved. My dear friend, Mbappé, scoring four goals in a final. What a gift it was to watch this spectacle to the future of our sport”, he added.

In the finals with France, Messi scored two goals and finally won the only trophy that had eluded him in his remarkable career.

‘Diego is smiling’

“Congratulations Argentina! Certainly Diego is smiling now”, Pelé further included.

Significantly, Mbappé, the French professional footballer, who scored in the 2018 title match when he was a teenager just as Pelé did in 1958, became only the second player in history to score a hat trick in the World Cup final.

Also read: Messi vs Mbappe in WC final: Stats, records, honours, and more

Both Messi and Mbappé also scored in the penalty shootout.

Messi ended up winning the Golden Ball award as the best player of the tournament and Mbappé won the Golden Boot award as the top scorer with eight goals in seven matches.

Moroccan campaign

Pelé also mentioned Morocco for its history-making run as the first African team to reach the semifinals at the tournament.

“And I couldn’t fail to congratulate Morocco for the incredible campaign, Pelé wrote.  Its great to see Africa shine”, he emphasized.

Pelé ended his message by again lauding Argentina and mentioning the man most often associated with him, as one of the greatest players in the history of sport, Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title, died in 2020.

(With Agency inputs)