Mutual respect, Lionel Messi says goodbye to world football legend Franz Beckenbauer on social networks

Franz Beckenbauer was recognized as one of the greatest defenders in football history and a key figure in the success of German football both as a player and coach. Beckenbauer was born on September 11, 1945 in Munich, Germany. He played most of his career at Bayern Munich and the New York Cosmos. With the German team, he won the World Cup in 1974 as a player and in 1990 as a coach.

Nicknamed "Der Kaiser", he stood out for his elegance on the field, his ability to anticipate plays and his ability to play as a defender and also as a midfielder. He was one of the first defenders to actively contribute in attack, which changed the way the role of defenders in football was perceived.

The German expressed his admiration for Lionel on several occasions: "Messi is a wonderful player, who brings joy when he watches him play. If he continues like this, working and with this perseverance, he will be one of the greatest," he said in 2017. Although after the Pelé's death in 2022 commented that, although the former Barcelona footballer is "today the best of all of his generation", the Brazilian was above everyone in history.

Beckenbauer won three European Cups and several leagues with the Bavarian team, in addition to two Ballon d'Ors and two World Cups: one as a footballer in 1974 and another as Germany coach in the 1990 World Cup, being one of the three to win it. he has achieved, along with the also recently deceased Mario Lobo Zagallo and Didier Deschamps.

Messi honored Beckenbauer

Leo Messi fired the legendary German defender Franz Beckenbauer through the social network Instagram, in which he published this Monday an image of the 'Kaiser' when he was a player. The captain of the albiceleste world champion in Qatar 2022 and winner of eight Ballon d'Ors paid tribute to the legendary former Bayern Munich player with a black and white photograph of the then defender, who died at the age of 78. The portrait was accompanied by the initials "RIP (May He Rest In Peace)", and in it Beckenbauer can be seen defending the German shirt and wearing the captain's armband.