With the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Lionel Messi (35 years old) has put the icing on the cake to a fairly broad list of winners, both individually and as a team, which includes a select collection of titles that no other footballer can embrace.
The world is yours, Argentina!
On Sunday, the Argentine star became the only human being to win the World Cup, the Copa América, the Olympic Games, the Finalissima, the Champions League, the Club World Cup and the Ballon d’Orsuperior distinctions that stand out from his other trophies, which are counted by the oodles.
It all started in 2006. That year, Messi integrated, although not yet as a figure, the FC Barcelona squad that won the UEFA Champions League, a title that the Argentine won again, in a leading role, in 2009, 2011 and 2015.
This is the image of Lionel Messi that reminded Diego Maradona!
In 2008, as part of the Argentine under-23 team, the Rosario (then 21 years old) won the gold medal in the Olympic Games. oo. from Peking. His two goals in the competition were enough to place him among the top scorers for Albiceleste, who defeated Brazil in the semifinals and beat Nigeria in the final.
The first Ballon d’Or came in 2009. After an outstanding season with the Catalans, Messi surpassed with a record margin in the vote for French Football the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (473 vs. 233) and his teammates in Barcelona Xavi Hernández (170) and Andrés Iniesta (149). The distinction was repeated as many times as anyone ever: seven in total until 2021.
Messi-Mbappé duel: blow after blow, to the canvas and standing up… Applause!
That same 2009, he won the first of his three club world cups in Abu Dhabi. always as a blaugrana. The others were in 2011 and 2015 (Japan).
Recent years have left Messi, as he is older, new titles. In 2021, against Brazil and at the Maracana, the Albiceleste captain ended a 28-year title drought for his team by winning the Copa América. Consequently, as continental monarch, Argentina faced Italy in the 2022 Conmebol-UEFA Champions Cup (Finalissima, formerly the Artemio Franchi Cup) and won in London. In Qatar, Messi was finally able to occupy the remaining space in his showcases with the World Cup, of which he was the greatest figure.
If something could have been missing from the albiceleste legend, it was the Libertadores Cup; However, despite being born in Argentina, he never played in the first division for a South American club. He, too, won the FIFA Confederations Cup, which is currently no longer being played and he did not play either. (D)
Source: Eluniverso
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
