The debate over Lionel Messi’s rightful place in history ended in 2022 when he led Argentina to the World Cup title in an epic Final against France, finishing as the tournament’s best player and finally adding the biggest and most important of all trophies to his vast collection. Messi’s individual and collective accolades for club and country combined with his magical style of play have separated him from every single other player in history.
Messi has won it all with Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain,
Inter Miami and Argentina, and he is still unstoppable even at the very end of his career. He remains Argentina’s best player as he gets set to play a sixth World Cup at the age of 38, and even though he’ll probably need a little more help from his friends compared to 2022, he is still the biggest threat and the biggest reason behind Argentina’s chances of defending their World Cup crown.
Constant Evolution
Beyond his remarkable numbers when it comes to goals and assists, Lionel Messi’s evolution is what stands out the most. His ability to stay ahead of the curve and his unmatched football intelligence allowed him to remain dominant even as the sport evolved into a bigger, stronger, more athletic game. Messi is surrounded by giants but is still better because he’s never been the same player for too long.
Messi started his career as a classic winger who used his speed and dribbling skills to move past defenders and create for himself and others; he was then moved to a false nine role that would define his career at Barcelona under Pep Guardiola, only to become a winger again and dominate Europe as part of the ‘MSN’ trio alongside Luis Suárez and Neymar with Luis Enrique as coach.
He’s played as a second striker and a number 10 for Argentina and Miami late in his career, allowing faster players to occupy the wings and striker position while he moves around the pitch at his own pace looking for places to receive the ball and impact the game. There is no question Messi hasn’t answered already; he’s seen every coverage, every type of defender, every defensive formation. And he still dominates.
A Glorious Farewell?
Despite their defending champion status and a very talented squad of players, many of whom played crucial roles in the 2022 title, Argentina and Messi don’t arrive in America among the main favorites. France, Spain and England are firmly established as the most likely sides to win it all, with Argentina placed below them in a tier that also contains Portugal and Brazil.
But the Albiceleste have too much talent and too much experience at this stage to be taken for granted, and it would not be a surprise to see them in the Final again with a chance to defend their crown. They also have the GOAT, one who is hungry to pull off one final magic trick to exit the world stage in the most glorious fashion imaginable. Never doubt Lionel Messi.
