The news about Lionel Messi's farewell from the Argentine National Team had a special impact on Francisco Ladogana. The 38-year-old coach from La Plata, a recognized fan of Gimnasia, has maintained a deep admiration for the captain of the Albiceleste for years.
Currently residing in Guatemala, where he serves as the head coach of Aguacatán, Ladogana received Messi's announcement with sadness and made a decision just a few hours later: to tattoo the handwritten letter that the footballer had published, dated July 21, 2026.
“I decided the same day I saw the news. I got up on Monday, saw his letter, obviously sad, and didn't hesitate to get the tattoo,” Francisco Ladogana recounted.
The emotion that the announcement caused him was such that he spent a good part of that day in tears and reminiscing about the Argentine star's career: “I cried all day until I went to work, watched videos, the letter, the farewell. And I kept saying: ‘This is nothing, when he retires definitively I don't know what I'm going to do at that moment'.”
