Argentine football has been struck by grief following the death of longtime national team official Omar Souto, who passed away at the age of 73. Souto played a crucial role in ensuring that Lionel Messi chose to represent Argentina instead of Spain, shaping the future of world football.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) confirmed the news in an emotional message, saying,
“𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒅𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅.”
AFA President Claudio Tapia also paid tribute:
“𝑻𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑨𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍. 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔.”
Messi’s Emotional Tribute to the Man Who Changed His Destiny
Lionel himself shared a heartfelt message remembering Souto, acknowledging the man who first connected him with the AFA.
“You were the one who brought me to the national team’s attention. Your legacy will last forever. We will never forget you, Omar. Rest in peace,” Messi wrote.
Although Lionel was born in Argentina, he grew up in Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy and could have chosen to play for Spain. Many of his Barca teammates became Spanish internationals, and Messi had the option to follow the same path. For a time, it even seemed possible.
But Souto became the key figure in changing that course.
The Untold Story Behind Messi Choosing Argentina
During the Under-20 World Cup in Nigeria, Spain’s coaching staff asked the Argentine scouts, “Where is that boy from Barcelona? He’s better than everyone.” This caught the attention of Argentine youth coach Hugo Tocalli, who assigned Souto to track Messi down.
Souto famously located Messi by contacting relatives and finally receiving a reply from his father, Jorge Messi:
“At last! My son wants to play for Argentina.”
To prevent Spain from finalizing their move for Lionel, Souto and Tocalli arranged quick friendly matches against Paraguay and Uruguay, ensuring Lionel appeared for Argentina first. Souto later described that moment as the turning point in Messi’s international career.
A Legacy That Will Live Forever
Omar Souto served more than 30 years with the AFA and was honored at its general meeting just last October. Only a few weeks later, the entire Argentine football community is grieving his loss, remembering him as the man who safeguarded one of the greatest football stories of all time.
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