Happy birthday to the greatest player that has ever played the game.
The greatest player that will ever play the game.
The greatest sportsman of all time.
This isn't his last dance, His last dance was at the 2022 World Cup.
The pressure is gone. The dream has been fulfilled. What's left is simply the privilege of watching him play one more time
Me encanta cómo el Mundial ayuda a recordarte las distintas etapas de tu vida. Dónde estabas, con quién lo veías y hasta cómo era el mundo en ese momento. Nostalgia pura.
I’ve no idea how I survived those 3 hours. From the joy of Di Maria’s goal, to the haunting flashbacks of every final Messi had lost once Mbappe equalized, and then that overwhelming feeling of happiness when Montiel’s penalty hit the net. One of the best days of my life.
Before you laugh at kids who believe in Santa, remember there are grown men who believe that Cristiano Ronaldo is a better footballer than Lionel Messi.
Argentina vs France — 2022 World Cup final.
You see football, it does things you don’t want to you sometimes, even when you have no link to the persons involved.
I wanted Messi to win the World Cup. It was just a desire to see a truly great sporting icon achieve everything he set out to. He’d won everything but one. He’d done everything thought impossible. He’d carried club and country on his shoulders for the better parts of a decade and that World Cup just had to be won. That was all I wanted.
I was shaking for the whole duration of the game, feeling feverish and apprehensive. Mbappe’s brilliance was a spectacle to behold but Messi’s World Cup glory is one the world needed. Mbappe can wait for his second ride. Messi’s haul had to be complete. For the sake of football’s better stories.
During the game, I hated how I felt. I promised myself it was the last time I’d ever feel that way about a football game and I meant it. I just love good things happening to people who deserve them. But I don’t want to have my body temperature rising and my legs shaking.
Now think of how an Argentine football fan would have felt that day. Think of what that moment means to them.
Then think of what Ronaldo said about that achievement. And how spiteful and obtuse he sounded about a man who’s achieved his one big dream and completed his greatness.