The passing of Pope Francis was felt everywhere, including the world of sports. That would have been true with any Pontiff, but Francis was special, as he was particularly fan of football, and described sports as a "universal language" that brings people closer.
When he learned about the news, Messi posted an Instagram story, saying "a different Pope, closer, Argentinian... Thank you for making the world a better place, we will miss you". Messi is the second person with most followers in the social network, 505 millions (behind Cristiano Ronaldo), and currently has 1347 posts.
Curiously, his first one, posted on August 14, 2013, is receiving now a large amount of comments and likes. It is a short video from Messi's visit to the Vatican with the Argentinian team, only five months after Francis had been elected as Pope. "What a nice way to start my instagram account with this special momento - Visit to the Vatican", Messi wrote twelve years ago.
As an Argentinian, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was particularly proud of Maradona and Messi (although he thought of another player when asked about the best footballer in the world).
Pope Francis will be buried next Saturday, and that will cause all football games in Italy that day to be postponed to Sunday.
