Messi started out as the best player on his team. And the best player on every other team too. At 10 and 11 years old, coaches would remove the centre-forwards because they got in his way. Teams were shaped around his strengths. His teammates gave him the ball because he helped them win. They became his friends because they admired him.
Then he grew up. And along the way he met players who did not know him. Some had their own stories, their own fears and, in some cases, oversized egos.
He wasn’t always respected. Teams didn’t always play for him. He didn’t always receive the ball in the places where he could change everything.
Until Scaloni arrived.
Once again, a coach who understands that when you have Messi, the challenge is not to fit him into an idea, but to build the idea around him.
Once again, the best player on his team. Once again, the best player among all teams. Nine goals in his last twelve World Cup matches.
And his teammates, just as they did when they were 10 years old, keep looking for him. Because with him nearby, winning becomes easier, and because they admire him for it, and for taking their profession to places nobody had imagined.
Some stories return to the beginning.
Like songs that, after all the verses, find their way back to the chorus.
D, you stole my words man! 🥹 I have nothing more to add. So beautifully penned & hit me in the feels. Only a true fanboy could have written like this. Thank you for the write up, @dhanushkraja
Vamos Rafa! 😭 Forever my GOAT ❤️
Sigh, this hurts. Some of the most iconic comic lines and moments from Malayalam cinema this century happened thanks to him. Landed a national award when he decided to get serious with his roles, like it was no biggie. Seemed to be a sensible person off screen too. RIP. 😔
"We will never forget what those teams did for us" - Sanath Jayasuriya
Thirty years ago to the day on February 13, Wasim Akram and Sachin Tendulkar played in the same team, and India and Pakistan came together to support Sri Lanka in ways the island will always honour ✍️ @afidelf
👉 https://t.co/nehMasDRPV
This post is A BIG thank you to ALL my family, friends and so many other people who have reached out to me!
On the 27th of December 2025 my life was taken out of my hands…when meningitis took over my brain, & unbeknownst to me I was placed into a paralysed coma for 8 days to help me fight this awful disease. And that I did! Fight that is!….
After being given a 50/50 chance of surviving, I came out of the induced coma 8 days later…not able to walk or talk. And yet 4 days after that, with the doctors in disbelief, I walked, I talked and proved to them all why I should be released from hospital to start my recovery.
So happy to be home, to be able to put my feet in the sand on the beach and to start thanking all those people that reached out to me and my family in their unwaivering support.
This experience has reminded me of how fragile life is, how quickly everything can change & how precious time is!
There are so many wonderful people in this world … from paramedics (at Mermaid Waters Ambulance), doctors & nurses (at Gold Coast University Hospital) … to family, friends and people I didn’t even know. I feel like I met all these fantastic people in the past 3 weeks, or they reached out to me through messages of love and support.
I am so grateful to you all.
Thank you! 🙏
Bring on 2026 …I’m back! 💫