All good things must come to an end one day. That phrase, in essence, reflects the football genius Lionel Messi’s decision to end his extraordinary career by announcing that he had played his last for Argentina. For over two decades, he had dazzled the world of football, mesmerised millions of fans not just in Argentina but the world over and finally, when he proclaimed he was done, the reaction can only be imagined. A feeling of shock and disbelief is what covered football lovers; post-Diego Maradona, a former Argentine superstar himself, this was the man who had been selling football magic that once used to be said of Brazilian greats. Timing, it is said, is one key component in any great sportsperson’s skill repertoire and often that separates the genius from the best. And Messi’s skills, it can be said, were all about timing. On the field, he wove the kind of intrigue that opponents were often bewildered by.

His ability to find the openings or create space at the rival end and ensure the ball beat all as it sailed into the cage was something unparalleled. And when all that exhibition, which had earned Messi plaudits and rewards of the highest order, was completed, came his final act, another steeped in timing. The 2026 World Cup had ended just around a month and a half ago. Messi figured in this final but could not lead Argentina to glory again. Spain ensured that. The disappointment is now over, but one could still recollect his forlorn face as he sat down on the turf, with tears rolling down his cheeks. Clearly, he was not crying for the loss alone but for his father, Jorge Messi, his inspiring agent right through, who was seriously ill back home in Rosario. That was the first place he visited after the final. Jorge’s death last month ended the dilemma in his mind, and the realisation arose that he had done everything for Argentina. There was nothing more that his career wanted. What better time than this, after his father’s exit from this world, to say it all over!

Messi is not leaving the sport totally, but his skills will now be reserved as an Inter Miami player for Major League Soccer in the US. But to think that such a gem is now moving from the centre stage of football truly ends another era in this sport. Maradona was the last to capture the imagination of football lovers with his gripping style of play. Forget his ‘Hand of God’ goal, which unfortunately sought to tarnish his abilities, but there is no denying the esteem he had gained for himself as a footballer. Messi was to take on from him, and even if it was not a memorable start, the number 10 on his shirt did not seem to egg him on initially with that lacklustre show in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The early exit there with the team under Maradona’s tutelage and Messi now looked upon as the next ‘Maradona’ irked the home fans. Disappointment followed in the next World Cup too, in 2014, as well as Copa America in 2015 and 2016, with Argentina’s exit coming in all three finals! Messi had had enough: four finals, all lost, and in a huff decided that ‘all was over for him with regard to playing for Argentina’.

The comeback for the great man was quick, for as he confessed later, it was his love for Argentina that changed his mind. Inside him, he knew he had enough to correct many things and, to be sure, it did not take long before he led Argentina to a Copa America win in 2021 and a year later the biggest prize of all, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Messi the footballer had returned to his true colours, the familiar destroyer of any opposition. The man who could send the sphere with great precision to any part of the cage he wanted, no matter what crowd he had in front. Between the maze of legs or curling the ball in the air, he could hoodwink the opposition as he delighted the onlookers. Amazing seemed a soft word in English for his acts, for such was the thundering effect it had not just on his team’s results but also on the adoring fans.

Yet for all this to think he had a difficult childhood despite being football-crazy all the way! Diagnosed quite early with a growth hormone deficiency, it seemed the early promise would end there. But his skills- superior vision, finishing and passing all developed early to offset this supposed disadvantage. And then came the call from FC Barcelona. At the age of 13, he shifted to Spain with his father to pursue his career. Academy life and then playing alongside seniors finally saw him play his first friendly for Barcelona at age 16. The rest is history. For the next 20 years, he was with the Club and that made him what he was. Scoring over 600 goals in 778 games, he helped his Club win 35 trophies and, what is more, set a record for the most goals in a calendar year with 91 goals (surpassing the 85 held till then by German Gerd Müller). From there success caught on. Ballon d’Or awards came in plenty, eight to be exact, for another record.

Greatness, it must be said, rested easily on his thinking head, and Messi knew nothing but providing excellence as he enriched football. Argentina looked to him, and the great man delivered the promise in 2022 with the World Cup, 36 years after Maradona had done it. Truly, there is nothing more he can do for Argentina, as he confessed. Still, his leaving will leave Argentina crying, nay, the world of football crying. Talents like Messi do not come every day but just once in an era.