Even though Lionel Messi has departed from the spotlight of European football, he continues to attract top accolades, having been named FIFA's best men's player for 2023 on Monday.
The decision to choose the 36-year-old over competitors Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe sparked controversy, especially considering Messi's perceived move to a lower standard by joining Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.
However, Messi's influence became apparent last year as he swiftly made his mark in the United States.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or recipient guided a formerly struggling squad to the franchise's inaugural trophy, co-owned by David Beckham, by claiming the League Cup in August.
Additionally, he clinched another league title at Paris Saint-Germain before bidding farewell to Europe, yet his concluding months in the French capital were anything but trouble-free.
Messi faced jeers from the PSG crowd and even incurred a suspension from the club for an unsanctioned trip to fulfill commercial commitments in Saudi Arabia.
That led to a sense of a genius in decline, albeit one whose peak was arguably higher than anyone before him.
If Haaland could feel aggrieved that his time is yet to come after scoring 52 goals and winning the treble in his debut season at Manchester City, he need only listen to his manager.
Pep Guardiola was one of those honored as Coach of the Year at FIFA's awards ceremony in London after masterminding City's Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup success last season.
Guardiola is fully aware of the generational great he was blessed to see up close in four years as Barcelona boss in Messi.
"Always I said that the Ballon d'Or should be in two sections, one for Messi, and after look for the other one, so Haaland should win, yes," said Guardiola ahead of October's Ballon d'Or ceremony.
"We won the treble because he scored 50 million goals but of course Messi ... the worst season for Messi is the best for the rest of the players."
It was by scoring 672 goals in 778 appearances for Barca that the tiny man lured to Catalonia from Rosario became a giant of the modern game.
A darting, slightly injury-prone young winger – who needed Barcelona to pay for growth hormone treatment as a teenager – became a devastating 'false nine,' lethal free-kick taker, and later the ultimate playmaker.
He even soared to score a memorable header in a Champions League final over Manchester United – one of four times he conquered Europe with Barca.
There were also 10 La Liga titles, seven Copas del Rey, and three Club World Cups with the Catalan giants.
Yet the trophy that mattered most took the longest to arrive.
For years, Messi struggled with the burden of leading his country to glory, as Diego Maradona did for Argentina at the 1986 World Cup.
Four shots on the global stage passed Messi by, from fleeting appearances as a wonder kid in 2006 through his prime years, including a heartbreaking final defeat to Germany in 2014.
When a teenage Mbappe ran riot to give France a 4-3 victory over La Albiceleste in 2018, there appeared to be a passing of the baton in football's global order.
Yet, Messi defied father time and Mbappe's brilliance when the two faced off once more in arguably the World Cup's greatest-ever game in the final of 2022.
Mbappe scored three times to Messi's two in a captivating 3-3 draw in Doha, but Argentina prevailed on penalties to finally allow Messi to follow in Maradona's footsteps.
The next wave of superstars, led by Mbappe, Haaland, and Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, is coming, but the respect for Messi from players, fans, and journalists has forced them to wait another year for the big individual awards.
