Lionel Messi never faced Bafana Bafana but does have South African connection

[p]The Argentine great announced his retirement from international football on Monday, bringing an end to an era just six weeks after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a]’s World Cup final defeat to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/spain/bLyo6mco/"]Spain[/a] in New Jersey.[/p][p]South African fans never saw him play against their national team, though he did, of course, feature at the 2010 World Cup, where [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/maradona-diego/2oVZGPyM/"]Diego Maradona[/a]’s Argentina were beaten 4-0 by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/germany/ptQide1O/"]Germany[/a] in the quarter-finals.[/p][p]But [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/messi-lionel/vgOOdZbd/"]Messi[/a] did face South African opposition. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] came to the country in 2018 for the Mandela Centenary Cup, which marked 100 years since the birth of former South African president Nelson Mandela.[/p][p]It was not Barça’s first visit. They had also played Sundowns in 2007 and won 2-1, but a young Messi did not feature on that occasion.[/p][embed guid="f6c6a972-6391-457a-a080-1e22c3d337ae" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJh3zyOZSLk" social-type="youtube" /][p]Both visits came through the links between then-[a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mamelodi-sundowns/lxZ6Bzh6/"]Sundowns[/a] president Patrice Motsepe and the Catalan club. Motsepe also had a relationship with the late [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cruyff-johan/8xBXNTsA/"]Johan Cruyff[/a], whose advice he sought and who recommended former Barcelona players Hristo Stoichkov and Johan Neeskens to coach Sundowns.[/p][p]At the time, it was reported that mining billionaire Motsepe paid Barça €3 million for their 2018 visit. There was also a contractual element to Messi’s participation, with Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde later acknowledging that his appearance in the friendly was due to a “contractual issue”.[/p][p]Messi did not start the game but came off the bench in the 74th minute, much to the delight of the local fans at Soccer City.[/p][embed guid="470feebe-9ad6-4ea8-a8f0-a96b3d1b9bef" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2094473142177509639?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Barcelona’s goals were scored by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dembele-ousmane/zsMC2Ec0/"]Ousmane Dembélé[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/suarez-luis/fV4fAvB8/"]Luis Suárez[/a] and André Gomes, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vilakazi-sibusiso/ELpEZfXS/"]Sibusiso Vilakazi[/a] scored for Sundowns.[/p][p]Messi played every minute of Argentina’s 2010 World Cup campaign on South African soil but did not score. His only direct goal contribution was an assist for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tevez-carlos/Of1fdMAj/"]Carlos Tevez[/a]’s controversial opening goal against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mexico/O6iHcNkd/"]Mexico[/a] in the round of 16, with Tevez clearly in an offside position when Messi played the ball to him.[/p][infobox id="584d9683-f419-4696-8cb3-c155213092a0" /]