ARGENTINA
Messi main attraction in Riquelme Bombonera testimonial
Almost 60,000 fans packed into the Boca Juniors ground to pay tribute to xeneize icon Juan Román Riquelme with Messi the star attraction.
Juan Román Riquelme enjoyed his farewell party on Sunday night at Boca Juniors’ La Bombonera stadium where a Boca XI faced an Argentina XI full of big names from past and present.
The current Boca vice-president is an idol for fans of the Argentine giants as over 50,000 people supporters packed into the iconic stadium to see Riquelme pull on the famous blue and yellow shirt for one last time.
One of the loudest cheers of the night was reserved for Lionel Messi as the ‘Albiceleste’ captain took to the field as part of an Argentina XI where he played alongside other heroes from the 2022 World Cup win such as Ángel Di María, Leandro Paredes and head coach Lionel Scaloni.
Speaking to the fans a the stadium, a visibly emotional Riquelme stated: ”This is too much. I want to thank all the coaches and teammates I had at this club. This has been like being involved in one of the the most beautiful movies”.
“Football has given me everything in life. I dreamed of buying the house for my mother, nothing more. I was lucky that they gave me an ovation from the first game to the last. I was born a fighter like all of you and I know that I am going to die a fighter like all of you. Without you I could not live”, he concluded.