Even At The End, Lionel Messi Is Just Getting Started

It's impossible to think about Lionel Messi's sixth and presumably final World Cup without those thoughts immediately acquiring the sepia tint of romanticism. On the cusp of his 39th year, 20 years to the day since his simultaneous introduction and eruption onto the world stage, Messi returns to the site of both his greatest heartbreaks and most definitive triumphs. He's here for a last dance, an epilogue to what has already been one of the greatest stories sports have ever told, a send-off less about putting his career in any new light and more about celebrating all that has come before. Messi himself seems to think about this Cup along similar lines. I can't ask for anything more, he said after Argentina's tournament-debut victory on Tuesday. God gave me too much, now everything is just to enjoy. Now, all this romance is well and good, but it's important not to let the easy narratives of fading greatness and curtain calls occlude a simple fact: Even though Messi is older and slower and less electric than you remember, he remains the absolute best at this soccer thing. If you'd overlooked that fact coming into the tournament, Messi's hat trick on Tuesday night should've made it crystal clear. He's not just here to take a bow. He's here to win. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOEy382GeVU