Magician still enthralls as rising stars watch from the wings

LONDON — Lionel Messi may have left the limelight of European soccer behind, but he remains a magnet for silverware after, once again, being crowned FIFA's best men's player at a ceremony in London on Monday.

The selection of the 36-year-old over pretenders to his crown Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe was a controversial one after Messi took what many see as a step down in standard to join Major League Soccer outfit Inter Miami, which is co-owned by David Beckham.

Yet, Messi's pulling power was evident as he quickly conquered the United States.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner dragged a hitherto struggling squad to its first franchise trophy, lifting the Leagues Cup in August.

He also racked up another league title at Paris Saint-Germain prior to leaving Europe behind, but his final few months in the French capital were far from plain sailing.

Messi was booed by the PSG crowd, and even suspended by the club for an unauthorized trip to fulfill commercial contracts in Saudi Arabia.

That led to the sense of a genius in decline, albeit one whose peak was arguably higher than anyone before him.

Yet, if Haaland feels aggrieved after scoring 52 goals and helping his club Manchester City win a historic treble in his debut season, he needs only listen to his manager.

Pep Guardiola was one of those honored as coach of the year at FIFA's awards ceremony in London, after masterminding City's Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup success last season.

Guardiola is fully aware of the generational great he was blessed to manage in his four years as Barcelona boss.

"I always said that the Ballon d'Or should be in two sections, one for Messi, and one for the others, so Haaland should win, yes," said Guardiola ahead of October's Ballon d'Or ceremony.

"We won the treble because he scored 50 million goals, but of course Messi ... the worst season for Messi is the best for the rest of the players."

Giant of the game

It was in scoring 672 goals in 778 appearances for Barca that the man, small in stature, lured to Catalonia from Rosario, became a giant of the modern game.

A darting, slightly injury-prone young winger — who needed Barcelona to pay for growth hormone treatment as a teenager — became a devastating "false nine", lethal freekick taker and later the ultimate playmaker.

He even soared to score a memorable header in a Champions League final over Manchester United — one of four times he conquered Europe with Barca.

There were also 10 La Liga titles, seven Copas del Rey and three Club World Cups with the Catalan giant.

Yet the trophy that mattered most took the longest to arrive.

For years Messi struggled with the burden to lead his country to glory, like Diego Maradona did for Argentina at the 1986 World Cup.

Four shots on the global stage passed Messi by, from fleeting appearances as a wonder kid in 2006, through his prime years, including a heartbreaking final defeat to Germany in 2014.

When a teenage Mbappe ran riot to give France a 4-3 victory over La Albiceleste in 2018, there appeared to be a passing of the baton in soccer's global order.

Yet, Messi defied father time and Mbappe's brilliance when the two faced off once more in, arguably, the World Cup's greatest ever final in 2022.

Mbappe scored three times to Messi's two in a captivating 3-3 draw in Doha, but Argentina prevailed on penalties to finally allow Messi to follow in Maradona's footsteps.

The next wave of superstars, led by Mbappe, Haaland and Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior are coming, but the respect for Messi from players, fans and journalists has forced them to wait another year for the big individual awards.

AFP