'The person that paved the way for me' - Lionel Messi pays moving tribute to Omar Souto as Argentine FA icon passes away aged 73

Posting on Instagram to his 509 million followers, Messi shared his tribute to Souto with the world.

The Inter Miami megastar credits Souto with making his international career possible. Messi has clinched two Copa America titles and the World Cup in 196 appearances and counting since 2005, scoring a South American record 115 goals along the way.

Messi, who had been living and playing in Spain with Barcelona from the age of 13, first represented Argentina at Under-20 level in 2004, making his senior debut aged 18.

"You were always there, and you were the one who paved the way for the AFA to notice me," he posted in memory of Souto. "A tremendous human being, impossible to forget for all of us who had the privilege of playing for the National Team. Your mark will remain forever. We will never forget you, Omar. Rest in peace."

The news of Souto's passing had been shared publicly in a statement by his long-term employer.

"The Argentine Football Association reports with enormous sorrow and sadness the passing of Omar Souto, long-time Manager of National Teams," the body's announcement read.

"All the employees at the AFA headquarters bid farewell to 'Papua' with unparallelled affection and love. Thank you, Omar, for carrying the AFA flag high until your final days. For your unwavering commitment to the national teams and for leaving an unparallelled legacy at the Ezeiza training complex. 

"You will forever remain in the hearts of all who knew you and those who worked with you. We embrace your family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time.

"The Argentine Football Association has declared three days of mourning, with flags at half-mast at its headquarters on Viamonte and in Ezeiza. A minute of silence will also be observed at all matches played that weekend."

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With Messi based at La Masia in Barcelona, leaving South America behind while still a child, Spanish football officials seemingly knew about his enormous talent before their equivalents in Argentina did. Growing up and attending school in Spain, it's plausible that he could have become eligible and eventually switched allegiance while waiting for Argentina to get in touch.

Souto and a colleague actually ended up being tipped off about the kid known as 'Leo' by the Spanish cohort at an Under-20 World Cup tournament in 2003, confused as to why Messi wasn't involved.

"In the Under-20 World Cup, we were always with Spain in the hotels, and a person from their technical staff approached us and said, 'How come you didn't bring the kid from Barcelona? He is much better than everyone here,'" Souto revealed to TyC Sports in 2021.

"In that team, we had [Fernando] Cavenaghi, [Javier] Mascherano, Maxi Lopez, and one day when we returned to Buenos Aires, [Hugo] Tocalli told me we had to get that player [Messi]. I thought his name was Leonardo because everyone called him Leo. I went to a call centre in Monte Grande and asked for a directory of the city of Rosario where all the Messis were listed.

"I called the grandmother who gave me the uncle's phone number, when I called him, he gave me the father's number, who when I called said, 'Finally, you are going to call him up. My son wants to play for the Argentine national team.'"

Forget being the first men's team to retain the World Cup in more than half a century, doing it for 'Papua' is all the motivation that Messi and Argentina will need heading into the 2026 tournament.

Souto has left a lasting impression on every player that has been through the national team system for decades, and so every player named in Lionel Scaloni's final squad will have a personal reason to win it for him all over again.