Trezeguet skips Pirès' farewell match to attend Messi's final game with Argentina

David Trezeguet was thousands of kilometres away from Metz on Tuesday evening, when Robert Pirès gathered a large contingent of the 1998 World Cup winners for his testimonial. The former AS Monaco striker was filmed by Argentine television in the stands of the Monumental stadium, holding one of his sons in his arms, to witness Lionel Messi’s final match in the Albiceleste shirt, a 3-0 victory against Benin.

Pirès’ testimonial had nonetheless drawn an impressive crowd: Laurent Blanc, Marcel Desailly, Lilian Thuram, Bixente Lizarazu, Christian Karembeu, Frank Leboeuf, Youri Djorkaeff and Patrick Vieira all made the trip to Moselle. The major absences from the France 98 squad remained Zinédine Zidane, who is much in demand at the moment, and Didier Deschamps, whose ties with the group appear to have loosened.

Trezeguet, for his part, had a personal and geographical reason to decline. The 48-year-old Franco-Argentine now resides in the Buenos Aires region, where he is working again for River Plate — the club where he ended his career between 2012 and 2014. According to Argentine newspaper La Nacion, he holds the position of international ambassador, tasked with raising the club’s global profile and participating in discussions around the 2030 World Cup.

“The president asked me to create and support this process aimed at significantly increasing River Plate’s international profile, through the brand and youth development programme. The enthusiasm for River Plate is very strong. The biggest international brands are beginning to contact us,” he explained.

The child he was holding in his arms at the Monumental would likely be his son born in 2017 from his relationship with Belen Cosimo, an Argentine translator. A moment of South American football history that Trezeguet clearly wanted to share with his family.