Mike Tyson joined the Lionel Messi conversation with one image and one emoji, but the timing made the post feel bigger than a simple Argentina tribute.
Messi's hat-trick in Argentina's 3-0 win over Algeria has pushed him back to the center of the World Cup, and Tyson's post arrived right as that reaction was exploding.
The former heavyweight champion has his own long-running link to Argentine soccer, which is why the image immediately carried extra meaning.
For fans who know the story behind the shirt, the post looked like a quiet reminder of a wish Tyson has mentioned before.
Photo by Alex Livesey – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
In a post on X , Tyson shared a soccer emoji alongside an image of himself wearing an Argentina shirt signed by Diego Maradona.
The post came as Messi was dominating Algeria, scoring all three goals in Argentina's World Cup opener. That performance moved Messi level with Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals and gave Argentina the kind of start that makes every Messi reference feel louder.
Tyson's Maradona connection goes back to 2005, when he appeared on Maradona's television show, La Noche del 10, and received the Argentina shirt. The shirt later became one of the most memorable pieces of Tyson soccer memorabilia because of who signed it and how often the image has resurfaced.
The extra layer is Messi. Tyson has been credited with saying in 2022 that if he ever meets Messi, he would ask him to sign the same shirt, making it a jersey carrying the signatures of two of the greatest soccer players in Argentina and world history.
That is why Tyson's post felt perfectly timed rather than random. He did not mention Messi by name, but sharing the Maradona-signed Argentina shirt during a Messi hat-trick naturally pointed fans back to that old wish.
It was a subtle way to place Maradona and Messi in the same frame again, especially on a night when Messi was making more World Cup history.
The comparison between the two Argentine icons always carries emotional weight. Maradona gave Argentina one of the sport's most mythic World Cup stories, while Messi has built his own through longevity, trophies and records that keep growing.
Tyson's post works because it connects those eras through one shirt. Maradona has already signed it, and Tyson's old wish is that Messi might one day add his name too.
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