As a child, he enjoyed the games in his humble neighborhood of Rosario with his brothers Matías and Rodrigo and his cousin, Tomi. His dream was to become a professional footballer, play in Europe, represent the Argentina National Team, and win a World Cup. And all of that came true, and then some. Lionel Messi has managed to build a dream career, winning seven Ballon d'Or awards, but curiously, his most decisive version in the Albiceleste came at the age of 35. In Qatar 2022, he took on the role of leader to break Argentina's 36-year title drought in the World Cups, which has been key to winning The Best Awards.
Prior to the World Cup, Lionel Messi was not on the podium for the best of the 2022 season. He was two or three steps below Kylian Mbappé and Karim Benzema, who had won the Ballon d'Or. However, in Arab lands, he changed his mindset. He showed a new face and led Argentina to be the most dangerous team in the World Cup. Of course, at the start, he had a reality check due to the setback he suffered against Saudi Arabia. A lesson that served him well.
The '10' of PSG, who was the first Argentine to play in five World Cups, led his team from the first game. If luck was not on his side against Saudi Arabia, Argentina reinvented themselves during the competition to defeat Mexico and Poland. In the round of 16, they beat Australia, and in the quarterfinals, they surpassed the Netherlands in a thrilling duel that was only decided by penalties. In the semifinals, it was Croatia who fell victim to Messi, who had scored five goals prior to the final against France's Mbappé.