He has gone from diminutive prodigy to perhaps the greatest footballer ever… and he is one game away from immortality.
If Lionel Messi leads Argentina to World Cup victory against France tomorrow afternoon, it will be remembered as the greatest moment in a football career of unmatched brilliance.
But to really understand just how far he has come, you need to stand on a scruffy, sun-scorched pitch, overlooked by bleak housing blocks, where Leo first kicked a ball aged four.
