How to read Messi

Analysis: to understand the player, we need to pay attention to the narratives around his persona, career and soccer culture in Argentina

Argentina's 2022 World Cup victory in Qatar marked the pinnacle of Lionel Messi’s career. For most Argentines, the captain had now put to rest any doubts concerning his claim to be the heir to Diego Maradona, who captained the team to its previous World Cup victory in 1986. A new verb - 'Maradonear’ (‘to Maradona’) was even popularised on Spanish-language TikTok clips of Messi doing Diego-like things, such as his semi-final blindsiding of Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol.

In one sense, this was not new and Messi's highlights reels have always featured plenty of Maradona moments. The 2022 edition Messi was different, though, because he directed taunts at opponents in some clips. This was very much in the spirit of Maradona (who was noted for his ability to coin insults), but out of character for Messi.

But it was these moments that caught the public imagination in Argentina, where there has in the past been a reluctance to fully embrace Messi as truly 'Argentine.’ To understand the dynamics at play, it helps to know something about the wider narratives that surround Messi’s own career and footballing culture in Argentina.

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From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, football journalist and author Jonathan Wilson discusses the World Cup and what it means to Argentina and Lionel Messi's legacy

Messi tends to avoid off-field controversy. When