Ultimate lap to immortality

The Armageddon of the world of football is finally calling.
The Barcelona boys are up against Barca himself - this was a headline of an AI-generated video that surfaced online in the wake of this World Cup saga, like many others.
Lionel Messi, truly made in Catalan, will face the new generation of Spanish superstars.
When his former Barca teammates Andres Iniesta, David Villa, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Gerard Pique, Carlos Puyol and Pedro won the cup 16 years ago, the same event saw Messi’s Argentina get knocked out 4-0 by Joachim Low’s Germany in the quarter-finals.
Fate restores faith.
At least for someone like Leo, who, after that quarter-final exit, was in for a ride to see the worst in his international career yet.
With a string of losses, the announcement that shook the entire sporting world came rather quickly.
“For me, the national team is over,” said the diminutive genius after conceding the 2016 Copa America final to Chile. 
This decision was, however, hailed as a statement that was mostly influenced by emotion and not well-thought out. It was imminent because by then, Messi had lost four major finals with Argentina.  The world knew that Messi had a lot more to give. Messi listened. 
He reversed his decision to come back for the incomplete dream that the whole world was seeing for him. Then came the Copa America win in 2021, which, for Leo, marked the start of building a mind-boggling international cabinet to look up to. It was followed by a Finalissima win against Italy in 2022 and then another Copa America title in 2024. The last feather in the cap came in 2022 when Leo, arguably, completed football by winning the ultimate prize of football – the World Cup trophy.
The football gods don’t seem to stop smiling on the favourite kid as Messi stands in front of yet another FIFA World Cup final.