Emotions run high as Pirès and Llorente visit FIFA Museum

FIFA World Cup™ winners Fernando Llorente and Robert Pirès visited the FIFA Museum last night and were reunited with something very special: the FIFA World Cup Trophy. Check out the best pictures from their visit. 

In Zurich for the UEFA Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26™, former Spain striker Llorente and ex-France winger Pirès found time to drop by the museum.  

The crowning moment came when the pair got their hands on the FIFA World Cup Trophy again. The 51-year-old Frenchman lifted the iconic trophy for the first time since being crowned a world champion on home soil with Les Bleus in 1998. “It’s a powerful feeling. It brings back a lot of memories. It gives me goose bumps because it reminds me of some fantastic moments. It was extra special for us, since we won it in France, in Paris, 3-0 against Brazil. It was simply magical, as magical as the trophy is itself.” 

Meanwhile, the 39-year-old Spaniard relived the joy of La Roja’s triumphant 2010 campaign in South Africa: “It was an unforgettable experience. It was Spain’s first World Cup title and remains our only one [in men’s football]. I feel privileged to have been part of that golden generation.” 

Speaking of golden things, the legends likewise added golden pins to and signed the museum’s Wall of Champions. Pirès, a two-time Premier League and FA Cup winner with Arsenal who also tasted European glory with his country, joined France team-mates Marcel Desailly, Youri Djorkaeff and Christian Karembeu on the wall. 

As for fellow European champion Llorente, whose club career included notable spells with Athletic Club Bilbao, Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur, he was following in the footsteps of two members of Spain’s 2010 squad. Cesc Fàbregas and Juan Mata were immortalised on the Wall of Champions when they came to the museum in June this year. They enjoyed a similarly emotional reunion with the FIFA World Cup Trophy.