I know there is an important message in what I’m about to share with you Di1’s here!

I could talk about Lionel Messi each week for the next 10 years and pull out gem, after gem, after gem.

For those of you that don’t know, I’m a huge fan of Messi, and is someone that I’ve learned so much, both on and off the field.

The plan was to talk about all he has done (The wins) but there is a much deeper message in the loses he has taken/judgment from others..

long before we get to this win, so let’s have a look back at his hardships.

Early Hardships From Birth

Lionel Messi had a natural talent to play football since he was a child, he was born to do what he has been doing for years. If you look at any of his younger years as a child playing in Argentina, he dribbles the exact same way as he does today, with the ball glued to his feet shifting one way to the next, lol.

The hardship came well before he arrived at Barça, Messi had GHD growing up & for those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s ‘Growth Hormone Disorder’.

So he was very, very small in stature, which would be a problem if he was going to be playing football, and you’re shorter than average, so not a dwarf, but not far off!

Messi came from humble beginnings when growing up, and in order for him to get treatment for his GHD, he would need 900 dollars per month…

His parents could not afford that of course, so you would think that him being so talented and natural gifted & be the talk of the town in Argentina for his skills as a little child, he would get this treatment taken care of for him right ?

Well it turns out that was not the case, big teams such as River plate & more heartbreaking for him Newell’s old boys (His fav team there) all rejected the offer to pay for his expense, despite the fact he was a young Phenom as a little child, 900 dollars would be too much of a risk in their eyes.

Now the treatments that were on offer were injections of the growth hormone, that he did not have, this would make him taller of course and also other issues such as skin and teeth problems he had, improve his vision, pituitary function and so on.

So time went on, he kept playing football & at the age of 13 Barcelona saw the value in him, and took 900 dollar bill per month and knew they would get that money back and more!

The first contract was actually signed on a napkin, which is really funny, but when it’s Lionel Messi you sign him up with whatever you’ve got, lol.

This is a pic of the napkin framed! 

Just to let you know, Lionel Messi is 5’6 1/2 after his treatment, and if he never went to Barcelona he would have been 4’2 as an adult!

If you’ve never had any complications with your birth, then you don’t understand what it feels like, to go through not just one issue that has been put on you, but three, four or five issues at the same time, that you feel powerless to do anything about at a young age.

This can lead to a low self-esteem, depression and physical and mental pain, for him, he had to inject himself in both legs every night, and then thinking will this actually work or not.

Being a young child and having your boyhood club reject you, and not think you’re are worth the money is a kick in the teeth to say the least, let alone making the choice to leave your home country to go to another, his parents but the ball in his court at the age of 13.

His family were together in Argentina, but his father Jorge had to move with Messi to Barça to get his trail done first, and pressure Barça to also find him work, and his own wife and other children had to stay in Argentina. 

This is all pressure on a child’s shoulders, as he came from nothing, he also had to leave his childhood sweetheart who is now his wife Antonella Roccuzzo. 

Knowing in the back of your mind that, If my own team had paid up I could have stayed longer/I may not ever see you again.

Final Defeat Hardships

It’s never good to reach a final of a sporting event and then get beat now, is it?

So it’s not just him it’s the whole team right ?

However, when you’re the best player for many years of your country and the world, that comes with higher expectations.

From the fans & the media, this is part and parcel of the game, if you win you get it in a way that you will be told that you’re are the greatest, this and that but if you lose, even though it’s a team game, they will blame you and then question you.

This is exactly what happened to Messi, as a youngster in 2007 Copa América final losing to Brazil 3,0…

Sidenote: Then the national team (08 to 11) was on the decline and having poor coaches take charge and mess things up for you, does him no favours.

Or dragging a struggling team to a 2014 world cup final & then losing to a strong German side, and then being hated on for not doing anything, when the whole team cannot do the basics rights, with just an okay coach in charge.

Then back again to the Copa América in 2015 & 2016 where you go back to back, but not like Drake & you’re having fun, more like Meek Mill!

Chile drew with them in the 2015 final, took them to extra time and then beat Argentina on penalties 4,1 Then a year later Déjà vu happens to you again, the only thing that was not the same was they lost on penalties 4,2…

In the era where you’re getting memed like crazy, mocked, your own fans turning on you, he was also the leader of the group since 2011 too I may add, even though you know, you can do more, but it’s a team game and the system was never supporting him in a way where he could do what he does.

Could he have done more in those finals, of course I’m sure Messi would tell you that himself, those back to back defeats in the Copa, to me you have to be winning at least one of those, however I understood the bigger picture and if I use those two Copa América finals as examples.

You had fellow players like Javier Pastore that flatter to deceive & Gonzalo Higuain who made it his international life’s work to screw over his own country with the chances he was missing that came to him on a plate, the same chances in two finals back to back, and in the world cup final in 2014!

The Hardship Of Your Own Country Turning On You

So after the 2016 final, in which Messi himself missed one, the fans turned on him, the stuff that they were saying was deep-rooted, from many years ago & instead of okay, you should have scored your penaltie, they shifted all the blame for their loses from the past on to him.

This is a lesson we can all learn, as when things are not going well, this is when you see what someone is really like, for him, it was a whole nation, they started twisting the truth on things I’ve mentioned like…

“You’re not even one of us”

“You’ve spent so much time in Spain that you’re not fit to wear the Argentina shirt”

“Messi Is not a good leader”

‘He is too quite to be the best of anything”

‘CR7 is the best ever, he turns up in finals”

“All he does is run down blind alleys”

“You’re nothing compared to Maradona”

“Cursing out his family”

These are just the ones I can share without it getting Messy (Excuse the pun) This is typical haters in a nutshell, you’ll whisper my accomplishments but shout out my failings to me.

So much so that he actually said I’m done with this B.S and walked away from the national team in 2016, this sent shockwaves to them as they thought that he was their mule to keep on beating with a stick.

I don’t really blame him for taking some time out, as let’s be real here, I never believed that he would never come back, but at that time it reached it’s peak of hatred and abuse, and I believe mentally he needed that time away to decompress.

It’s wild to me that  will forget the Olympic Gold he won in 2008, which was the last thing this country had won, they left it on the shoulders of a 21-year-old, will forget that he dragged a poor team into a world cup final, and we will forget that two teams that did not want to fork the money to pay 900 dollars per month for his treatment, is the reason he did not remain in Argentina & went to  Barça.

They went too far, for what he had done for them, and the B.S that had being going on since the time he made his debut in 2005.

Will act like Higuain did not miss chance after chance that Messi gave to him ?

If we’re calling out any singular player, it’s Higuain every day of the week & twice on a Sunday, not your best player, who did more than anybody else in the team!

I’m sick to my stomach to even think about the abuse this man got, the cheek of his own country turning the backs on him and giving him abuse.

Not long after saying that he was done with the national team, he made his return in 2016 to Argentina, for many weeks some fans wanted him back, they even made a statue of him, which is funny to me, for a guy that is not even one of you, as he went to Spain..

What happened to all of that ?

&

Turn The Pain Into Something

Many would have just stayed retired from International football, even with his skill and talent, as you give up on lesser things in your life now, let alone all I’ve just said to you that he has gone through.

He showed that he was loyal, if he was how they made him out to be when they did not get what they wanted from him.

He would have played for Spain, as he had lived in Spain for so long he would have been allowed to have played for Spain, who back when he was younger were the top national team and won trophies in 2008, 2010 & 2012.. 1 World cup & Two EUROS.

So now if we look at 2018 to 2022 what happened was the following…

The national team went through some much-needed changes, in 2018 they made the choice to take a rookie coach in Lionel Scaloni, to me, he was nothing more than a cheap date so to speak, they never really believed in him and the fans even less so.

NO MORE HIGUAIN!!!

Something so simple nearly eluded Argentina forever, but it shows when you do the simple things right, day in and day out great things can happen and boy did they.

So in 2021 Argentina won the Copa América at last against Brazil, it was so funny to me, as many went on record to say that he could never win a trophy for Argentina, and when he did that it was crickets for 14 days.

Messi Does It At Last!

They won that game 1,0 if you were wondering, then in the summer of 2022 they won a minor trophy Finalissima, which is only between the winners of the Copa América & the EUROS winner’s (Italy).

G.O.A.T Business 🐐

So it’s the World cup final 2022, the stage is set.

It’s France Vs Argentina.

Argentina beat them on penalties 4,2 after a great 90-min game/extra time thriller!

This is regarded as the best World cup final ever by many too, Messi ended up with two goals & scored his penalty in the shoot-out, so that was a lesson learned from 2016.

After the first half of 100 percent control from Argentina & France Mbappé made a last ditch comeback in the 2nd half, Messi had been here before, even when he scored to make it 3,2 in extra time, then Mbappé scored a penalty 10 mins later, he had been there before.

All these lessons, from heartbreak, made him remain calm, even when it came to the penalty shoot-out as he had missed in his last major final (Copa América 2016) that was the last thing on his mind, his mind was clear, the demon had already been slayed, if you have the wrong guy’s/girls around you, it could have been so easy to have those thoughts in his head when taking it, it’s all mental, and those you have around you matters.

This win was very big as he is the only player, that has ever lived, that has completed the game of football!

Messi Ticks Off His Last Trophy & Now Has Won It All!

That means he has won everything team based that he can win/all the personal awards too that is on offer to him.

This has never ever been done before, and might not be again, who knows, it was a great moment to see him lifting the cup.

My fav moment though was when he just collapsed on the floor with a smile on his face as, he had finally achieved his biggest wish in football, to win a world cup at long last, if he had lost this final would he have been any worse of a player ?

It’s really stupid when you look at his whole history as a player and one moment can wash away all you have done, by those who are judging you & have no place to, with or without this cup he is the best of all time.

Yet, his talent did not matter, all his achievements team based and off his own back meant nothing to the press & certain fans, as he had to win one World cup, it makes 0 sense, but this is what happens when you blow up haters & listen to what they have to say & then it becomes law.

So if you’re really talented at something, it would be unwise and foolish not to expect others not to be happy for you, hate on you, tell lies on you, push the next hope instead of you & so on.

If at this level, where you are the very best that has ever lived in something & they still judge you, off the one thing that, at the time you did not have, the only reason why they have nothing else to say, is he did everything & it’s never been done by another, they need time to think of how to spin it, lol.

Point being, stop putting so much value on what outside voices are telling you & listen to your own, this is your life on earth, don’t let them stop you from doing what you love to do, what gets you up in the morning and warms your heart even through tough times.

As it turns out in Lionel’s case, from all of this, these hating ass people could not see greatness right in front of them.. So what makes you think they are accurate on their assessment on you, when they fail so hard at a Marco level ?

THAT’S IT!

I would love to hear your thoughts on what I had to say. 

Let me know if you found this lesson helpful too. 

See you again next time! 

 We Look Up 大

Karim David 

The Healthy One