Twice he played against Beckham in the Clasico, a fixture in which he scored a hat-trick while still a teenager in a 3-3 draw in March 2007.įootball has been transformed in the years that followed, while Messi established himself as one of the best to ever play the game. The last footballer who transcended the sport and made a move Stateside as a genuine global icon, was David Beckham, who was 32 when he joined LA Galaxy in 2007.īack then Messi was emerging on the world stage, having made his senior Barcelona debut aged 17 in 2004. In making a move to the United States, 'La Pulga' (The Flea) has done what Pele did in his mid-30s, and Johan Cruyff too. The romantic return to childhood club Newell's Old Boys, in his home city Rosario, will have to wait.īarcelona wanted to bring him back and that would have been a love story in its own right too.Īt one point a move to the Middle East seemed inevitable, but the pull of Major League Soccer proved too much to resist.

That left Messi with a dilemma as he sought his next destination.Īlmost every club would still take the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, even the late-career version, in a heartbeat.īut signing Messi, whose annual salary in Paris was a reported 30 million euros (S$43m) after tax, comes at an enormous cost, leaving the player himself with only a handful of possibilities.

Yet he is clearly not ready to quit the game just yet, following the end of his two-year stay at Paris Saint-Germain. The Barcelona legend has secured his legacy as the best of his generation and perhaps now sits on the podium of all-time greats alongside the late Pele and Diego Maradona. PARIS - About to turn 36, Lionel Messi could hang up his boots content that his glorious career is complete after he led Argentina to victory at last year's World Cup.

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