Messi's statue stands at South America’s soccer HQ

STORY: The 35-year-old emulated the late Maradona by leading Argentina to their first World Cup triumph in 36 years in Qatar in December.

The Argentine Football Federation also renamed the national team's training facility after Messi on Saturday, two days after he scored his 800th career goal in a 2-0 friendly win over Panama.

Messi surpassed the 100-goals mark for World Cup champions Argentina on Tuesday by scoring a hat-trick in their 7-0 friendly win over Curacao.