“This recognition is one of the nicest I’ve ever received” - Lionel Messi reacts to honor of Argentina naming training camp after him

Lionel Messi recently stated that Argentina's training facility being named after him is one of the nicest recognitions he has ever received. AFA (Argentine Football Association) president Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia announced that their training base, previously known as Casa de Ezeiza, will now be known as 'Lionel Andres Messi.'

The renaming has been done to immortalize Messi, who played a leading role in helping La Albiceleste win the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Tapia tweeted:

"We lived a historic day in our Casa de Ezeiza, which from today will be renamed Lionel Andrés Messi, in homage to the best player in the world. I want to thank all the managers, players and employees of @afa for having been with us, once again."

Messi reacted to the honor by posting a picture of himself alongside the new nameplate on Instagram. The Paris Saint-Germain superstar captioned the image:

"This recognition is one of the nicest I've ever received. A great honor, thank you very much!!!"

Lionel Messi and the rest of the Argentina squad received a thunderous welcome from the crowd ahead of their friendly against Panama at the Estadio Monumental. Lionel Scaloni's team won the game 2-0. Thiago Almada opened the scoring for the world champions in the 78th minute, while Messi netted a brilliant free-kick in the 89th minute to score his 99th international goal.

Former French international defends Lionel Messi from criticism for PSG form

Former French midfielder Johan Micoud recently defended Lionel Messi from criticism he has received for his performances with PSG. Experts like Jerome Rothen and others have claimed that Messi doesn't care about the Parisian club.

The criticisms have intensified in light of PSG's recent lackluster form. They were eliminated from the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League by Bayern Munich.

Micoud, though, spoke in Messi's defense as he recently told L'Equipe:

"You can't speak in the player's place, What allows you to say that he doesn't care about PSG? He told you that, right? No, but you're already talking like that. You can say he's not happy here, but he doesn't care about PSG... I don't see that on the pitch. I don't see anyone who doesn't give a damn. I can't let you say that. It's not true."

Messi is currently in the final months of his PSG contract and is yet to agree an extension with the club.