Tonight’s FIFA World Cup final has left me genuinely divided.
My admiration for Argentina comes from my lifelong love affair with Barcelona. From the magical days of Diego Maradona, through the genius of Ronaldinho, and ultimately the incomparable brilliance of Lionel Messi, Barcelona shaped my understanding of how beautiful football could be. Messi, La Masia’s greatest product, an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and Argentina’s captain, has, in my view, already settled the greatest-of-all-time debate. He does not need another World Cup to prove his greatness. In the eyes of millions of football lovers, that argument was won years ago. Another triumph would simply crown an already unparalleled career.
Yet my support for Spain also has deep roots. They play the kind of football I have always loved, one-touch passing, intelligent movement, patience in possession and complete command of the ball. Watching Spain often feels like watching the philosophy of the great Barcelona teams expressed through a national side.
Lamine Yamal is the latest jewel of that footballing tradition. At just 19, he is already one of the game’s most exciting talents. Winning the World Cup tonight would surely place him at the front of the queue for his first Ballon d’Or and mark the beginning of what could become another legendary career.
Perhaps that is the beauty of football. Sometimes there are no losers for the neutral.
Part of me wants to see Messi write one final masterpiece and lift another World Cup at the age of 39, perhaps followed by one last Ballon d’Or. Another part wants to witness the dawn of a new era led by Lamine Yamal.
And somehow, I suspect that deep down, Lamine himself would be happy to see his childhood idol, Lionel Messi, complete one last magical chapter before the torch is finally passed to the next generation.
Tonight, my heart is split. But whatever the outcome, football will be the winner
A reminder from The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel:
“The highest form of wealth is the ability to wake up every morning and say, ‘I can do whatever I want today.’ People want to become wealthier to make them happier. Happiness is a complicated subject because everyone’s different. But if there’s a common denominator in happiness—a universal fuel of joy—it’s that people want to control their lives. The ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want, is priceless. It is the highest dividend money pays.
Use money to gain control over your time, because not having control of your time is such a powerful and universal drag on happiness. The ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want to, pays the highest dividend that exists in finance.”
South Africa must be one of the few countries in the world where a multibillionaire President is found with hundreds of thousands of dollars hidden inside his furniture; where a Deputy President owns mansions worth tens of millions of rand; where a police officer can afford a R39 million house; and where a municipal manager spends millions on a London shopping trip using a chartered flight costing R3 million.
Then we are lectured about “fiscal discipline”, “tightening our belts” and “living within our means.” A country where obscene wealth coexists with mass unemployment, hunger and collapsing public services is not suffering from a shortage of resources—it is suffering from a crisis of priorities, accountability and inequality.