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Agence France-Presse

His predecessor loved Mozart, but Pope Francis’ passion was football – for him “the most beautiful game” – and also a vehicle to educate and spread peace.
From Argentine compatriots Lionel Messi and the late Diego Maradona to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gianluigi Buffon, Francis received the greatest stars of football at the Vatican, signing dozens of shirts and balls from around the world.
And the admiration flowed both ways. Following news of the Pope’s death on Monday at the age of 88, Messi took to Instagram to pay tribute.
“A different Pope, close, Argentinian … Rest in peace, Pope Francis,” the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner posted. “Thank you for making the world a better place. We will miss you.”
Francis often recounted playing as a young boy on the streets of Buenos Aires, using a ball made of rags.
While admitting he was “not among the best” and that “he had two left feet”, he often played as goalkeeper, which he said was a good way of learning how to respond to “dangers that could arrive from anywhere”.

His love of football was inseparable from his loyalty to the San Lorenzo club in Buenos Aires, where he went to watch matches with his father and brothers.
“It was romantic football,” he recalled.
He maintained his membership even after becoming pope – and caused a minor uproar when he received a membership card from rivals Boca Juniors as part of a Vatican educational partnership.
Francis kept up to date with the club’s progress thanks to one of the Vatican’s Swiss Guards, who would leave results and league tables on his desk.
On Monday, San Lorenzo’s homepage showed a large photo of a smiling pope under the club’s blue-and-red striped emblem, and the words: “Goodbye forever, Holy Father!”
Argentina’s football association postponed all fixtures on Monday to mourn Francis.
Football is often compared to a religion for its fans and Francis held numerous giant masses in football stadiums during trips abroad.
French Bishop Emmanuel Gobilliard, the Vatican delegate for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, said he understood the crucial role played by football.
“Whether you are an amateur or professional footballer, whether you like to watch it on television, it makes no difference: this sport is part of people’s lives,” he told AFP.
When, as pope, I received Maradona in the Vatican a few years ago … I asked him, jokingly, ‘So, which is the guilty hand?’
Pope Francis in 2024
But it was not just an end in itself – Francis, a Jesuit, also saw football as a way of spreading peace and education, despite the money and corruption linked to the sport.
In 2014, the Olympic Stadium in Rome hosted an “inter-religious match” for peace at his initiative.
“Many say that football is the most beautiful game in the world. I think so too,” Francis declared in 2019.
As early as 2013, addressing the Italian and Argentine teams, Francis reminded players of their “social responsibilities” and warned against the excesses of “business” football.
The pontiff’s love for the game inspired a scene in a film The Two Popes, in which former Pope Benedict XVI and then-cardinal Jorge Bergoglio watch the 2014 World Cup final between their two countries, Germany and Argentina.
It was pure fiction, as the soon-to-be Francis gave up watching television in 1990 – the year West Germany beat Argentina in the World Cup final hosted by Italy – while his predecessor preferred classical music and reading.
His enthusiasm for football, said Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin on Monday, bore “witness to a joyful spirit and his ability to connect with people through warmth and a sense of shared humanity”.

Francis never mentioned the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, which took place in the midst of a dictatorship when he was a provincial leader of the Jesuits.
But he dedicated an entire chapter of his 2024 autobiography to Maradona, whose infamous “hand of God” goal helped Argentina beat England in their 1986 World Cup quarter-final clash.
“When, as pope, I received Maradona in the Vatican a few years ago … I asked him, jokingly, ‘So, which is the guilty hand?’” he said in 2024.
And asked once who was the game’s greatest player, Maradona or Lionel Messi, the pope hedged his bets.
“Maradona, as a player, was great. But as a man, he failed,” Francis said, referring to his addictions to cocaine and alcohol.
He described Messi as a “gentleman”, but added that he would choose a third, Pele, “a man of heart”.


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Pope Francis

Pope Francis was the pontiff with ‘2 left feet’ who loved the ‘beautiful game’

Pope Francis receives an olive tree from Argentine forward Lionel Messi at the end of a private audience together at the Vatican in Rome, Italy on August 13, 2013. Photo: Osservatore Romano / AFP

Pope Francis greets Argentinian former footballer Diego Maradona at the Vatican on September 4, 2014. Photo: AFP

Candles surround a portrait of the late Pope Francis, wrapped in a banner of the San Lorenzo football club, of which he was a fan, at the Cathedral in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Monday. Photo: AP

Pope Francis’ death mourned globally by Russia’s Putin, UK’s King Charles, France’s Macron

Britain’s King Charles said he was “most deeply saddened” about the death of Pope Francis. Photo: Vatican Media/Reuters

Pope Francis meets with Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla during a private audience at the Vatican on April 9. Photo: Vatican Media/­Reuters

Pope Francis walks next to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of their private audience at the Vatican, in June 2015. Photo: AP

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky meets Pope Francis in June 2024, on the sidelines of the second day of the G7 Summit. Photo: EPA-EFE/Ukrainian presidential press service

French President Emmanuel Macron greets Pope Francis in June 2018. Photo: AP

Who will succeed Pope Francis? Exploring potential candidates from Vatican circles

A person stands next to a photograph of Pope Francis inside Saint Anthony Catholic Church in Istanbul, Turkey on Monday. Photo: AP

Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo was twice elected head of the Council of European Episcopal Conference. Photo: AP

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the archbishop of Munich and Freising, offered to resign as archbishop to atone for the German church’s dreadful abuse record. Photo: AP

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet has defended priestly celibacy for the Latin Rite church and upheld the ban on women’s ordination. Photo: AP

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has been the Secretary of State of the Holy See since 2014. Photo: AP

If Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost replaced Pope Francis, he would become the first American pontiff. Photo: AP

Cardinal Robert Sarah, is considered the best hope for an African pope. Photo: AP

Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn has expressed support for civil unions and women as deacons. Photo: AP

Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines, who has Chinese lineage could become the first Asian pope. Photo: AP

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi Francis’ was named Francis’ peace envoy for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Photo: EPA-EFE

What happens after Pope Francis’ death?

Pope Francis swaps his skull cap during the weekly general audience at the Vatican in January 2024. The death of the pontiff triggers several rituals, including mourning, a funeral, and a conclave. Photo: AFP

During the “sede vacante” period, Irish-American Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo, will manage the ordinary affairs of the 1.4 billion-member Roman Catholic Church. Photo: AP

Pope Francis greets thousands of members of the association of Italian Catholic Guides and Scouts in Vatican City, in June 2015. Cardinals will elect a new pope, announced by white smoke from Sistine Chapel. Photo: EPA-EFE

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88, on Easter Monday

Pope Francis waves at the general audience at Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican in October 2022. Photo: AFP

The Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome following the death of Pope Francis on Monday. The Vatican said Francis had confirmed in his final testament his wish to be to be buried at the basilica. Photo: AFP

A man shows a copy of the Vatican’s L’Osservatore Romano newspaper after a rosary prayer for the late pope, in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican in Rome on Monday. Photo: AP

Filipinos mourn death of Pope Francis, their ‘Lolo Kiko’: ‘we grieve like orphans’

A Filipino offers a candle in front of a picture of Pope Francis, following the Vatican’s announcement of the pontiff’s death, at the Manila Cathedral in Manila, the Philippines, on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Filipinos pray after the death of Pope Francis was announced by the Vatican, at the Cubao Cathedral in Quezon City, the Philippines, on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Pope Francis waves from the Popemobile before leading a Mass at Rizal Park in Manila on January 18, 2015. Photo: Reuters

People pray after mass at Baclaran Church in Paranaque, Metro Manila on Monday following the death of Pope Francis in the Vatican. Photo: AFP

Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (left) shows Pope Francis how to give the popular hand sign for “I love you” at the Mall of Asia arena in Manila, the Philippines, on January 16, 2015. Photo: AP

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From Argentine compatriots Messi and the late Maradona to Ibrahimovic and Buffon, Francis received greatest stars of football at the Vatican


From Argentine compatriots Messi and the late Maradona to Ibrahimovic and Buffon, Francis received greatest stars of football at the Vatican.


Pope Francis was the pontiff with ‘2 left feet’ who loved the ‘beautiful game’

From Argentine compatriots Messi and the late Maradona to Ibrahimovic and Buffon, Francis received greatest stars of football at the Vatican

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