Lionel Messi's personal highlights from the World Cup prove exactly why he won the Golden Ball and cemented his place as the best ever.
All the talk ahead of the tournament was about whether or not Messi would finally be able to be crowned world champion, after failing of previous occasions.
Having finally won the Copa America in July of 2021, the only remaining criticism of the 35-year-old, when it came to the G.O.A.T debate, was that he'd never won the World Cup.
There was also the issue that he'd never actually scored in the knockout stages of any of his previous attempts, even though he was named player of the tournament in 2014.
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The Paris Saint-Germain forward has essentially spent the past few weeks ending any questions that remained of an incredible career.
Messi managed to score in the last 16, quarter-final and semi-final wins for his team, as well as the final, making him the first man in the competition's history to do so.
He might have won the Golden Boot if Kylian Mbappe hadn't scored an incredible hat-trick in the final, but he still walked away with a second Golden Ball trophy.
And it's no real surprise when you consider his performances throughout the tournament, and his own personal highlights reel shows just how good he was in Qatar.
Plenty of people were desperate for the former Barcelona star to win the tournament, with even a former France international saying he wanted Messi to do it.
There were those who didn't want it to happen, mainly Portugal players who complained FIFA were trying to make it happen, but all-in-all most people seem happy.
That might explain how the Argentina captain earned another record, when his post on Instagram became the most liked in the social media platform's history.
" So many times I dreamed it, so much I wanted it that I still don't fall, I can't believe it," Messi posted.
"Thank you so much to my family, to all who support me and also to all who believed in us. We prove once again that Argentinians when we fight together and united we are able to achieve what we aim.
"The merit is of this group, which is above individuals, is the strength of all fighting for the same dream that was also the one of all Argentinians... We did it!!! LET'S GO ARGENTINA."
It was expected that the end of the tournament in Qatar, no matter how it finished for Argentina, would be the end of Messi's international career.
However, following the penalty shoot-out, the Argentina star confirmed that he would actually continue on to play as a world champion.
It still remains unlikely that he'll make it to the next World Cup, in North America, as he'll be 39-years-old by the time it kicks off.
Topics: Lionel Messi, Argentina, Football World Cup, Football
Ryan Sidle