Last year, Lionel Messi silenced his doubters by guiding Argentina to Copa America glory. One criticism aimed at the little genius throughout his career was the fact that he never tasted success on the international stage.
Prior to Argentina’s first triumph since 1993, Messi had lost a World Cup final to Germany and two Copa America finals against Chile, both those defeats to the South American nation coming on penalties.
But the Paris Saint-Germain superstar finally lifted international silverware in the summer of 2021 and he was absolutely electric throughout the team’s campaign.
Messi contributed to nine of Argentina’s 13 goals (4 goals, 5 assists) and was rightly presented with the coveted Golden Ball award after the 1-0 final victory over Brazil, where Angel Di Maria scored the only goal of the game.