\n<\/p>\n
It is easy to forget Messi, then at Barcelona and aged 29, actually retired from international football in 2016.<\/p>\n
He had lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany and three Copa America finals.<\/p>\n
Since reversing that decision he has won the Copa America twice.<\/p>\n
When Messi – then of PSG – lifted the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, it felt as if the final piece of the jigsaw of his career was complete.<\/p>\n
Many considered that the final thing missing from the argument over the best player ever – with many considering fellow World Cup winners Pele and Diego Maradona the greatest.<\/p>\n
“I am very happy for finishing my journey in World Cups in a final, to play the last game in a final. That is really very gratifying,” he said before the 2022 final.<\/p>\n
“There are a lot of years from this year to the next one. I don’t think I will be able to do that. To finish this way is brilliant.”<\/p>\n
And when he left Europe the next year to join Inter Miami in the MLS, it seemed like he was going to wind down.<\/p>\n
Even during last year’s Fifa Club World Cup, which he played in, it was far from clear if he would be involved this summer. <\/p>\n
But here he is, still seemingly unstoppable – even though his game has changed. <\/p>\n
Before the England tie, he had walked 47% of the distance he covered in this tournament, the highest percentage of any outfield player.<\/p>\n
Tactically he has reinvented himself at least five times, says Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, who wrote a biography on Messi.<\/p>\n
Messi has now scored or assisted in 13 consecutive matches for Inter Miami and Argentina.<\/p>\n
If he gets involved in a goal in Sunday’s final against Spain, it will equal his record set in 2011 of 14 in a row.<\/p>\n
He will also become only the second player after Cafu to play in three World Cup finals.<\/p>\n
Surely that will be his final World Cup game? After all, he turns 43 in 2030. <\/p>\n
But maybe at this stage we need to stop presuming anything when it comes to the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n