Lionel Messi has the farewell he wished for. Or the stage for it, at least. On Sunday the forward – a well-known failure at international level – will play his sixth major final with Argentina. It will be his 26th World Cup game, more than anyone else ever, another record gathered up; it will also be his last.
“To be able to finish my journey in the final makes me happy, and everything I have lived here is lovely,” Messi said at the end of another night graced by another moment, like a gift given: something to hold when he has gone.
