Parallel to his club evolution was the transformation of Messi the leader with Argentina. After years of heartbreak – including three lost finals in three years – Messi briefly retired in 2016. When he returned, he was a different character. The quiet, introverted genius was replaced by a vocal, defiant captain who wasn’t afraid to confront officials or inspire his teammates with emotional rhetoric. “The Copa America 2021 was the release,” and by the time the 2022 World Cup arrived, he had synthesised every version of his past self into one ultimate performer.
In Qatar, we saw the 2009 winger reappear to dance past Josko Gvardiol, and the veteran quarterback provide the clinical pass for Nahuel Molina against the Netherlands. “Football changed a lot,” Messi told Zinedine Zidane in 2023. “The way of playing, the systems. The game today is much more tactical and physical than before. Before, you found more spaces.” Now at Inter Miami, he exemplifies the “walking” maestro, conserving energy to deliver decisive blows. As his childhood idol Pablo Aimar noted: “The last Messi is always the best Messi.”
As he eyes one last dance on the world stage, the focus remains on his ability to become someone completely new whenever the game demands it. He has “reinvented himself at least five times”, as noted by Guillem Balague for the BBCand he may yet have one final transformation left in the tank.
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