Divine Messi! A twirling genius with a discreet personality, making the feat a routine, the Argentinian joined the soccer Olympus on Sunday by finally winning the World Cup, which earned him the claim to the status of greatest footballer in history. .
After an extended final against France (3-3 aet, 4 shots on goal to 2), the shadow of the small striker grew even longer. Here is Lionel Messi (35) among the legends of football, these envied and adored world champions, which heroes like Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini or Ferenc Puskas have never managed to be.
With this 41e The most prestigious trophy of his long and fruitful career, Messi lands at the top of the pyramid of football monsters, up to his compatriot Diego Maradona, crowned in 1986.
“Of course I wanted to end my career with” this trophy, Messi savored after the meeting. “I knew God was going to give it to me at some point and, I don’t know why, I had a feeling it would be this time. »
And if there is a match with “King” Pelé, the only player with three world champions, but who has never played in a European club, the Argentinian’s majestic record may be difficult to match… Even Cristiano Ronaldo , five times Ballon d’Or, finds himself left behind: at 37, the Portuguese will probably never be world champion and bowed to his eternal rival, “an incredible, magical, top player”, he had summarized in November .
In Argentina, the coronation of Albiceleste triggered scenes of ecstasy. Until Sunday, the supporters judged Messi immense, but there was only one “dios”, Diego Maradona, the “pibe de oro”. The third star will change everything.
“Now I know which player will take my place in football, and his name is Lionel Messi,” Maradona prophesied in 2010.
Forgotten disillusions
Besides, Messi has won a lot more than Maradona and Pelé. Seven Golden Balls, four Champions Leagues, an avalanche of championships and cups with Barcelona then with Paris SG, a Copa America in 2021 and therefore this World Cup.
Now a polytheist, Argentina will forever venerate the kid from Rosario, who entered the firmament with the third star of Albiceleste, 36 years after the maradonian epic of 1986.
Messi was born a year later, in 1987, in Rosario, in the north of the country. When the planet discovered this kid with long hair, it was moved by the fate of the little left-hander who, according to the established history, left Argentina at the age of 13 to find a club in Barcelona which financed his medical treatment to settle his growth problems. Launched in the Barça first team in 2004, the striker left the club in 2021, becoming the club’s most successful player by accumulating records: top scorer in the history of Barça, top scorer in the history of La Liga Spaniard, holder of the record for the number of goals in a calendar year (91 in 2012)…
” He is too strong “
An exceptional player, Messi has developed innate qualities that make the difference: speed, vision, devastating dribbles and surgical finishing. “No defensive system stops him, no coach. He is too strong, ”summarized one day Pep Guardiola, his ex-mentor at Barça.
In Qatar, Messi added a weapon to his panoply: a touch of aggressive attitude, which is so popular in Argentina. We saw him display an unrecognized face of a lodger, vindictive and angry after the victory of the Albiceleste in the quarterfinals against the Netherlands, with his now famous “Qué miras, bobo? [Qu’est-ce que tu regardes, abruti ?] », Addressed to the Dutchman Wout Weghorst, author of a double, during his live interview.