He’s said goodbye before but this time it looks like he means it. He’s gone from a young boy studying Maradona’s dribbling to a global icon leaving behind a treasure trove of youtube highlights that are infinitely rewatchable.
For the world, and especially for Argentina football is losing its soul
Messi has faced countless opponents throughout his career, but there was one thing they often had in common. After 90 minutes of trying to stop him, they wanted his shirt. That simple gesture perhaps says as much about the man as his trophies do. For all his genius on the pitch, Messi carried himself with a humility that earned admiration even from those who spent their careers trying to defeat him.
And perhaps, years from now, when children ask, “Who was Messi?”, we will struggle to find words big enough to answer.
We will tell them about the goals, the dribbles, the trophies, the impossible passes and the nights when he seemed to bend the football to his will. They may well look at us in disbelief. So then we can say
“God wanted to play football, he had to shorten his name from Messiah to Messi. (LP)