Lionel Scaloni did not know where to look. In the dugout at Arrowhead, Argentina’s coach was caught in the emotion of it all. Lionel Messi was trudging towards him, his number up, ready to be replaced.
As he did so, Scaloni made an unconvincing attempt to keep calm with his team 3-0 up against Algeria.
It was a moment reminiscent of Qatar four years ago when Scaloni’s then-assistant, Pablo Aimar, the player Messi idolised as a boy, put his head in his hands and slumped in his seat. Aimar cried uncontrollably after Messi scored a goal against Mexico that liberated 46million Argentinians from an almost unbearable tension.
In Kansas City, Scaloni tried to hold it together. He pulled Messi in, shouted words of gratitude in his ear, and blinked over and over again, apparently welling up.
Lionel Scaloni’s admiration for Lionel Messi is written all over his face (Tom Weller/picture alliance via Getty Images)
“It’s quite hard to explain,” Scaloni said. “We’re still amazed by him even though we get to see him on a daily basis, and he’s been the best for 20 years. He still pulls it off in every single match, and you don’t have to be an Argentina fan to admire what he’s done at age 38.”
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Up in the commentary box, Messi’s former team-mates, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero, began bowing down. Messi was performing new tricks even on his 200th appearance for his country. He started Argentina’s title defence with his first hat-trick at the World Cup and drew level with Miroslav Klose as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer. Astonishingly, El Diez (the 10) looked as good as ever. “I’m feeling really good,” Messi laughed, taking it as a compliment.
His rivals were also in a state of utter disbelief. Earlier in the day, Kylian Mbappe scored an impressive brace against Senegal. But as was the case after the 2022 World Cup final, it was Messi who stole the headlines.
Boarding a flight back to Norway’s training base in Greensboro, North Carolina, having scored a couple of times himself against Iraq, Erling Haaland posted an incredulous selfie on Instagram. “Messi is a madman.”
His former team-mate Xavi told The Athletic: “When you look at Leo, he hasn’t changed. Physically, he’s still the same, still fit. Look at the way his feet still move, that fast little shuffle: tsk, tsk, tsk. How is that possible?”
Algeria players were mesmerised by Lionel Messi’s movement (Du Yu/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Even Scaloni struggles for an answer. After the Algeria game, he spoke about Messi’s naturalidad, the way things still come so easily to him. “I could stay here with you for over an hour trying to explain what he does,” Scaloni said. “But you need to be there to really understand the atmosphere, the ambience. It’s really hard to put into words.”
So how on earth does he do it — and keep doing it?
Messi playing in a sixth men’s World Cup, a record he shares with Cristiano Ronaldo, was simultaneously expected and in doubt. He didn’t publicly commit to it. He kept the public guessing. In March, the final international break before the tournament, Scaloni claimed to still be in the dark about Messi’s intentions.
“I’ll do everything I can to make sure he’s there,” he said. “For the sake of football, he has to be there. It’s not me who decides. It’s up to him, his state of mind, his physical condition.
“It’s difficult because it is not just the Argentinians who want to see him, everyone wants to see him. I want him to be there. It’s up to him to decide. He’s earned the right to make that decision with peace of mind. We’re in no rush about it. We know whatever he decides will be best for the team and for him. We hope he will be there.”
Sources familiar with Messi’s plans, speaking on condition of anonymity, have told The Athletic he did not take this World Cup for granted. Before the final in 2022, he told reporters: “I am proud to be able to finish my World Cup journey playing this final. What I’m experiencing is exciting. Sunday will be my last game in a World Cup.”
When the emir of Qatar placed a bisht on Messi before the trophy lift in Lusail, many, including Messi, thought that was it. The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico felt a long, long way away.
It may sound strange given he is considered the greatest player of all time, but, as this summer’s World Cup drew closer, Messi felt the need to prove to himself that he could still make the difference for Argentina.
Those around him were incredulous. In their opinion, Messi would not only still be good enough. He’d be the best player for Argentina and the best player at the World Cup. “Anyone else would have retired after winning it in 2022,” Xavi tells The Athletic. “But he’s such a competitive animal.”
What mattered to Messi, however, was to be called up on merit, not reputation — present prospects rather than past glory. When Messi moved to Inter Miami in July 2023, it felt, on one level, like he was preparing and maturing the American market for the upcoming World Cup. Playing in MLS would, theoretically, allow Messi to adapt to the unique conditions in the States. Conversely, some thought it might wear him down too.
Whatever your opinion on the standard of MLS, it has, in the past, hastened the retirement of ageing stars. You don’t necessarily go to MLS to prolong your career. Take Steven Gerrard’s time with the LA Galaxy for example. “Going on the road, playing on turf, playing at altitude, playing in humidity, those are the hurdles that I’ve had to face over the last three months that I wasn’t aware of,” Gerrard said in 2015.
This time last year, as the inaugural Club World Cup began, Messi’s future with Inter Miami was also subject to speculation. His contract was due to expire at the end of 2025. What were his intentions? Did Messi wish to follow his friend Angel Di Maria and play for his childhood club back home?
When the Club World Cup ended, Di Maria made the romantic choice to leave Benfica for Rosario Central. It was food for thought. Might Messi play in the same city, his hometown, with Newell’s Old Boys, the team he grew up supporting? Reverentially, Newell’s even named a stand after him on his 38th birthday last June.
Messi, as is his wont these days, kept everybody waiting. In the end, he signed a new three-year deal with Inter Miami, putting pen to paper on a walnut desk situated in the middle of a construction site. The club’s new purpose-built stadium in Miami Freedom Park was going up around him.
When it opened in April, who else but Messi could score Inter Miami’s first goal in their new home? He was in top form. At the end of last year, Messi won the MLS Cup, was named MVP and collected the Golden Boot. In World Cup qualifying, he finished top scorer in South America (eight goals). Within himself, it was clear Messi got the answers he sought. He still had it.
Inter Miami won MLS Cup in December, as Lionel Messi was named the league’s MVP (Michael Pimentel/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
His team-mates were not surprised. Rodrigo De Paul followed Messi to Inter Miami last summer. They are so close De Paul has earned a reputation for being Messi’s bodyguard on the pitch. In Kansas City against Algeria, he was the provider of Messi’s first goal — even if, let’s be frank, Messi did most of the work. “For the last two or three months, every day we’ve had a training plan beyond what we do for the club,” De Paul told Lo del Pollo. “We’re pushing ourselves to the limit so that, physically, we arrive in the best possible shape. We do double sessions with our trainer. That’s where we put in the work.”
De Paul even wanted to make a documentary about it, only for Messi to resist his attempts to produce anything more than a home video. “No, cut it out. Why are you filming me?” Messi would say. “Come on, little man, if it happens maybe we’ll make a few bucks,” De Paul replied. His instincts were right. Fans would no doubt pay to see it.
In comparison with Cristiano Ronaldo, little is known about Messi’s routine. Ronaldo’s diet, sleep habits and sunbathing for vitamin D have, by now, made him as famous as a wellness figure as a football icon. As for Messi, we know he addressed his nutrition a decade ago. He needed to stop the bouts of vomiting he suffered during games and visited a specialist, Dr Giuliano Poser, in northern Italy. “I ate badly for many years: chocolates, fizzy drinks, and everything,” he explained to La Cornisa eight years ago. “That is what made me throw up during games. Now I look after myself better. I eat fish, meat, salads. Everything is organised and taken care of.”
In Miami, everything has been done to tune up Messi’s near-39-year-old body so he can keep making the most of his talent for longer. Argentina’s physio, Walter Insaurralde, works with him in Miami. The training facility in Fort Lauderdale has been upgraded every year. Messi has done resistance work, sprint drills, and strength and conditioning. “In the last month you’ve seen this change of pace from Messi,” noted a commentator during a 6-4 win against Philadelphia Union in May.
But, as always with Messi, it’s about football, pure and simple. When Guillermo Hoyos was promoted to replace Javier Mascherano at Inter Miami in the spring, the Argentine coach introduced what became known as the ‘Super Liga’. The Inter Miami squad was divided into a series of small-sided teams for an in-house tournament. Each one had a captain who, in turn, picked the teams. Players could be transferred between them. All results from the Super Liga were then written on a whiteboard, as were other performance metrics, such as goals scored. The games were intense. Players were respectful of one another and didn’t cross the line, but there was an edge to them.
Sergio Reguilon, Rodrigo De Paul and Lionel Messi train in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in May (Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
On the final day of the Super Liga season, the champion was announced. Not only did Messi’s team win, but the stats were also jaw-dropping. Messi scored more than 80 goals over the tournament. No other Inter Miami player had more than 30. Messi had not gone and picked the other stars of Inter Miami to be on his side either. “It was like, this is unbelievable,” one source said, laughing.
As MLS headed into a league-wide break to accommodate the World Cup, Messi’s Super Liga form carried over into Inter Miami’s actual games. He was involved in 12 goals (five goals and seven assists) in his last five appearances for his club. All the hard work Messi put in across the season was paying off. As such, you can understand why he looked so anxious when he suffered a hamstring injury against Philadelphia Union in his final game.
Those who know Messi found it telling that he went straight down the tunnel rather than taking his place on the bench after being substituted. The timing of the injury could not have been worse. From a World Cup perspective, it coincided with those afflicting Neymar with Brazil and Lamine Yamal with Spain. How bad was it? When would we see Messi again? If he did return, would he be inhibited by the injury and unable to play at 100 per cent?
After keeping Scaloni waiting, Messi answered his call to play at the World Cup. He trusted his rehabilitation and when he came on for the final 20 minutes of their penultimate warm-up game against Iceland in front of 90,000 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, his impact was scarily immediate. Within seconds of entering the fray, he played a defence-splitting pass for Lautaro Martinez, who got taken out by the goalkeeper and won a penalty that Messi converted.
The World Cup is only one game old as far as Argentina are concerned but Messi has already, somehow, made it look like the Super Liga.
Lionel Messi looked as good as ever against Algeria (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Messi, unlike his great contemporary, Ronaldo, does not appear to be a burden on his national team. Far from it. Since Scaloni’s appointment, Messi has found harmony playing for Argentina. The international set-up is like a family. When he won the World Cup in Qatar, Messi turned and shared a long embrace with a woman many mistook for his mother. It was in fact Argentina’s chef, Antonio Farias.
If, at times, the Argentinian way of doing things looks old school, all barbecues and mate, Leandro Petersen, the Argentine Football Association’s chief commercial officer, claims the use of AI has played a part. “From a 13-year-old player all the way to a senior international, we can track the athlete’s entire history,” he tells The Athletic. “How many minutes they play each year, what injuries they have had, their nutritional habits, which vary from player to player, and much more.
“We are doing extensive work on the technical and tactical side, as well as on the commercial side, training planning, injury prevention, and monitoring everything related to an athlete’s health both on and off the field: nutrition, psychology, and more.
“Obviously, within the national team project, everything related to the staff and planning is very important for us, both for Leo Messi and for the rest of the players. In fact, some players arrived at the World Cup carrying injuries, but they have all recovered now.
“Leo was one of them. He arrived with an injury, yet we saw an outstanding performance from him in the first match. It surprised us, not only because of his age, but also because he was coming off an injury and had not trained for a week.”
Shortly after the game against Algeria, some of his team-mates were privately saying: “Wow, the little fella! He’s so up for it!” A wonder and a winner. “Everybody sees him as God. They also see him as just another pal from the neighbourhood,” Scaloni said.
The next World Cup in 2030 will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco; however, Argentina will also host one celebratory game at the Estadio Monumental to mark the tournament’s 100th anniversary. If Messi is in this shape now, who is to say he can’t be there in four years?
This week, a clip of an English commentator went viral on social media. “Lionel Messi’s final World Cup match surely,” was the line after France knocked Argentina out in the first knockout round of the tournament in Russia back in 2018.
And yet look who it is. Messi is still here. Improbably as good as ever.
