When Messi – then aged 31 – and Argentina were knocked out by France in a seven-goal classic in Russia in 2018, the days of him delivering tournament-defining performances in the World Cup could have been over.
But four years later he captained his country to the trophy in Qatar, scoring seven goals, and after a further four he has become the first ever player to score in six consecutive World Cup matches.
Olivier Giroud was part of the France side which went on to win that 2018 edition, and still playing in Ligue 1 himself at 39, can relate to Messi’s situation and believes a player’s competition with himself is more important than thinking about the younger generation.
“It’s clear just how passionate Messi still is for football and you can tell it’s in his DNA to always be a competitor, and to try and outdo himself more than anyone else,” Giroud says.
“Playing at a high level at our age, you have to pay close attention to your life hygiene – how you sleep, your diet, and taking care of your body, because that’s the thing you rely on for work.
“The key thing is still having the desire, the motivation, the passion, to keep going.”
Messi is not the only global sports superstar to have continued laying down gauntlets for younger rivals into their late 30s – tennis’ Novak Djokovic being perhaps the most impressive example in recent years.
But doing so requires a combination of relentless dedication to physical fitness and unerring self-belief.
“Players know themselves inside out by that age, so there’s not a lot left to teach them about how to manage as they get older,” says Michael Caulfield, a sports psychologist working in professional football for more than 20 years.
“From a physical point of view, they take advantage of every breakthrough in sports science.
“But mentally, it’s about whether they have the capacity in their minds to deal with the daily grind. They have to be willing to spend the whole year working hard on the same things, and if you’ve been doing that for 25 years, that takes huge self-discipline.
“They have to maintain the sheer will to go through the rehab process after injuries when they know they’ve already won everything.
“All the top athletes I’ve ever known, they’re all willing to try and go back one more time, because they love doing what they do.
“It’s the same reason you still see Bruce Springsteen or Madonna touring – it is completely intrinsic to who these stars are.”
