“We want Maradona’s heart to travel with the national team” – Advertising agency reveals ‘dream’ plan to inspire Lionel Messi and Argentina at 2022 FIFA World Cup

An advertising agency has come up with a peculiar idea related to Diego Maradona to inspire Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates to World Cup glory.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar could potentially be Messi’s last chance to cap a glorious career with a World Cup trophy. Argentina crashed out of the 2018 World Cup at the hands of eventual champions France in the Round of 16. They previously lost the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final to Germany.

According to ESPN, an advertising agency in collaboration with a PR firm wants Maradona’s heart to be carried with the Argentina team to Qatar. The Argentine legend's heart is being kept at the Department of Pathological Anatomy of the Buenos Aires Police, in La Plata. It was removed to be analysed by coroners as part of the postmortem examination.

The bizarre initiative was brainstormed by the advertising agency Bombay and a Buenos Aires-established PR firm known as SBO. The former company is based in Argentina, Mexico, and the United States.

Bombay executive Javier Mentasti is reportedly waiting on a response from Maradona's family, and the Argentina FA with respect to the proposal. The two companies jointly released the following statement:

"We want to fulfil what we feel would be his wish. We want Maradona's heart to travel with the national team to Qatar. That he travels with them, that he be in the [training] camp, in a room, on the bus, in the locker room, on the pitch and if God and Diego want, seven games later, next to the long-awaited cup. It's our dream, and we want it to be everyone's dream from today."

2022 FIFA World Cup Lionel Messi’s last chance?

Lionel Messi has a very strong argument to be considered the greatest footballer of all time. The Argentine is arguably the most magical footballer ever seen and has won every imaginable trophy at the club level. However, quite a few football fans often claim that he cannot be considered the greatest simply because he never won the FIFA World Cup.

Messi came close in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and was the Man of the Tournament. The World Cup exit was followed by the Copa America Final disappointment against Chile two years later. As a result, Lionel Messi had announced his retirement but eventually chose to return.

There is little doubt that at the age of 34, this is Lionel Messi’s final chance to carry the team to the trophy. He cannot be expected to continue for four more years at the top level with the past season already having shown signs of him slowing down. At the club level, Messi has had better seasons.

Paris Saint Germain’s exit from the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid was arguably his worst loss, simply because of the difference in quality between the two squads. With multiple big contenders set to compete with Argentina at the World Cup, Messi will need to be at his very best if his nation is to win their first World Cup since 1986.