After France defeated Argentina at the 2018 World Cup, BBC Sport wrote: “The beginning of Kylian Mbappé’s era and the end of Lionel Messi’s.” What followed was the exact opposite. Messi went on to win: - The World Cup, defeating Kylian Mbappé’s France in the final. - 2 Copa América titles. - The Finalissima. - 4 league titles. - 3 Ballon d’Or awards. - 3 FIFA The Best awards. - 2 Laureus World Sports Awards. - The European Golden Shoe. - And on top of all that, he produced one of the greatest individual seasons in football history in 2019. Eight years after that headline, Messi even left Europe, giving their golden boy, Mbappé, every opportunity to dominate and finally win the Ballon d’Or. It still didn’t happen. Then, at 39 years old, Messi returned to the biggest stage at the World Cup in the United States and took the tournament’s Golden Boot ahead of him. They tried to put limits on a man who has never had any.