It must have been like carrying a whole set of superheavy dumbells while running across the pitch. And so on for years.Being scrutinized and criticized for every single mistake on the path to the desired glory. And compared, always compared, never good enough, never worth the praise your predecessor has got.Game over, Messi wins. Or maybe…That was, ladies and gents, the life of Lionel Messi until last night. No matter all of his trophies, and there are countless of them; no matter personal achievements and accolades, and there’s not a single one he has missed; no matter the pure ingeniousness and consistency that has kept him on the highest heights for a decade and a half. It was simply not enough.(©The Times) He lacked that one. He had to cross the line that separates great from immortals, magicians from legends, and profane from sacred ones. Messis from Maradonas.But now, this distinction is finally gone. Jumping on Kun Aguero’s shoulders and raising that World Cup trophy high above, Messi recreated Diego’s epic moment from Mexico ’86 and joined the latter in the pantheon of immortals.No te olvides que soy distinto de aquel pero casi igual. pic.twitter.com/8VfQI3CK9B— La pelota no se mancha (@Diego10Querido) December 18, 2022 We’re not going to bother you with dozen of similarities between the two, but this unconventional bond has finally reached the point we all expected to see at some point – like a good book whose ending you can almost anticipate from page one but keeps you wandering on that long and profound road until you get to the end. Happy end, this time.##NAJAVA_MECA_6892891##Albeit with as many obstacles and tears along the road, which almost left Messi without that GOAT stamp.He resisted, persisted and, as a true leader, took his band of brothers straight into history and glory. The circle is closed.
