Should Argentina become the first side since 1962 to retain the World Cup title - and only the third nation ever to do so - Lionel Messi will stand at the heart of that achievement.

The 39-year-old has shone brightly across his sixth World Cup, matching the record held by Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Mexico's Guillermo Ochoa, with eight goals and three assists to his name.

Yet while Messi tops the Golden Boot chase alongside France forward Kylian Mbappe, viewers worldwide have witnessed a markedly changed player from the one who debuted for Barcelona back in 2003.

Argentina will face their historic rivals England in the semi-finals on Wednesday (20:00 BST) at Atlanta Stadium, placing Messi once more under the spotlight.

Most players fade over time. The very best discover methods to adjust. Ronaldo transformed into a box predator once his speed diminished.

Messi has not merely adjusted to aging. He has evolved in ways that allow him to control and lead a sport that has long tried to catch up.

During this tournament he has focused more on creation while covering less ground. He has taken 33 shots and set up 21 opportunities, the highest combined total (54) since Diego Maradona in 1986.

He has done so while walking 47 percent of the distance covered, the largest share among any outfield participant.

Messi has recorded the lowest distance among Argentina outfield players who have played 20 or more minutes, averaging just 8.2km per 90 minutes.

Further figures underline this. He completes only 2.7 sprints each game, down from 5.3 four years earlier.

England must achieve what only Poland has done across Messi's last 15 World Cup outings - prevent him from scoring or assisting. He has recorded 16 goals and seven assists in those matches.

Since the 16-year-old debuted for Barca in a friendly versus Jose Mourinho's Porto on the right wing, dribbling and cutting inside, Messi has reshaped his game at least five times to become the player now seen with Argentina and Inter Miami.

When Ronaldinho, then the world's top and most famous footballer, first watched Messi train, he declared the youngster would become the best.

Two years later, in August 2005, Messi revealed his talent to the globe in the Joan Gamper Trophy match against Juventus. Fabio Capello, Juventus coach, was so impressed by the 18-year-old that he reportedly sought to sign him.

By age 21, with Ronaldinho declining and the torch passing, then Barca boss Frank Rijkaard stated clearly what the side required from him.

"Right at the heart of the action," Rijkaard noted. "The more he gets on the ball, the stronger the team becomes."

In the early months after Pep Guardiola took charge in 2008, the right flank served as the Argentine's pathway, his personal route to scoring.

The first occasion Guardiola shifted Messi from the wing came for defensive purposes.

He rarely tracked back, leaving the full-back exposed. Yet the Catalan coach understood Messi would ultimately occupy the central role.

And the squad would be constructed around this new position for major occasions and decisive moments.

The date: 2 May 2009. The venue: Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid. The event: A La Liga fixture.

Guardiola chose to pull Messi from the right wing and position him at the head of the attack - without the duties of a classic striker.

Samuel Eto'o moved right, Thierry Henry went left, and Messi received instructions: Drop deep, collect, choose. By the end it finished 6-2. The false nine returned.

This approach was not novel. Gusztav Sebes' Hungary had crushed England 6-3 in 1953 by repeatedly dropping Nandor Hidegkuti into midfield, dragging centre-backs out of place and opening gaps for Ferenc Puskas and Sandor Kocsis.

Johan Cruyff, under Rinus Michels, operated a roaming forward role in the Total Football style for the Netherlands.

Initially Messi posed an unsolvable issue. When he dropped between lines, Madrid's centre-backs faced a choice: track him and create openings, or hold position and grant him space.

Neither worked. Messi advanced through the space freely. With Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Yaya Toure supplying from behind and Henry and Eto'o stretching defences wide, every opposing decision proved mistaken.

Guardiola repeated the trial weeks later in the Champions League final versus Manchester United. Messi headed the winner with 20 minutes remaining.

Between 2011 and 2013, Messi netted 96 goals in 69 La Liga appearances.

The Ballon d'Or first awarded in 2009 became almost routine - he claimed it again in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019, reaching eight in total. The initial one came at 22. The latest at 36.

"I paid little heed to tactics before," Messi told journalist Juan Pablo Varsky in 2024.

"But under Guardiola I absorbed a great deal. I began to grasp spaces, ball control, and the true mechanics of the game."

When Xavi departed Barcelona in 2015, followed by Iniesta three years later, the dynamic altered. Messi had long been the decisive figure; now he was required to serve as the complete driving force.

The midfield that had protected him - those who circulated possession and generated the openings he exploited - had vanished. For a spell Messi was expected to embody Xavi, Iniesta and the finisher all at once. It asked too much of anyone.

He responded by evolving once more. The scorer and number 10, or false nine, became the enganche - dropping deeper to organise, initiate and frequently conclude moves.

Assists began to match goals in his record. In the 2019-20 campaign he posted 22 assists and 25 goals across 33 La Liga matches.

He regained his scoring peak in his final Barcelona season (2020-21) with 30 goals and 11 assists from 35 La Liga games.

Yet his opening campaign at Paris St-Germain confirmed the change fully: 11 goals and 15 assists in 34 matches across all competitions - more assists than goals for the first time at club level.

"A goalscorer who turned into an Iniesta" was how one Argentine expert put it.

Alongside the tactical shifts ran a longer tale: the matter of Messi's identity with Argentina.

He assumed the captaincy in August 2011. Then followed the setbacks. The 2014 World Cup final defeat to Germany in extra time at the Maracana. The 2015 Copa America final loss on penalties to Chile. The 2016 Copa America final loss on penalties to Chile once more.

Three finals across three years, each lost, and each tightening the grip of national expectation upon him.

After the final defeat he stepped away, an option he had weighed twice earlier. He returned. But altered.

At the 2019 Copa America, eliminated controversially by hosts Brazil in the semi-final, Messi entered a press conference and openly criticised the South American confederation.

This was no longer the player who once withdrew into quiet when Argentina's burden grew heavy. This was a leader who chose not to be defined by titles still missing.

The Copa America 2021 brought release. Argentina defeated Brazil in the Maracana final and ended a 28-year drought for a major trophy. The pre-match address Messi delivered moved the dressing room to tears.

The Messi at the 2022 World Cup represented a further stage - a blend of all prior versions.

There was the burst past Josko Gvardiol in the 3-0 semi-final victory over Croatia, the 2009 winger re-emerging for one stunning instant.

There was the precise passing in the final against France - the ball to release Nahuel Molina, the clever run to create the rebound for Argentina's third goal in a 3-3 draw, the penalties scored in the shootout when pressure peaked.

"Football has altered greatly," he told Zinedine Zidane in a 2023 interview. "The style of play, the formations. Today's game is far more tactical and physical than earlier. Previously more space existed."

He spoke in the straightforward manner of one who has competed across three separate tactical periods of modern football - the robust midfielders of Porto and Chelsea, the positional passing height, the post-Guardiola tactical contest with rapid breaks - and prevailed in each.

At Inter Miami, through the 2024 Copa America, and now this summer - Messi walks more than he sprints.

Critics once cited this against him. Now it signals mastery. He reads the play, saving energy for key moments.

"The latest Messi is always the finest Messi," Pablo Aimar - his boyhood hero - once remarked. He is likely still correct.

What Messi has accomplished over two decades amounts to more than a collection of honours and numbers. It represents a reinvention of what a footballer can embody at every career phase.

The teenage winger who amazed Capello. The false nine who reshaped European football's tactical landscape. The enganche who learned to elevate teammates.

The captain who ultimately became what his nation required - the playmaker of a World Cup-winning side. And now the veteran who covers little ground yet perceives everything ahead.

This World Cup has brought many praises for Messi. Most have overlooked the core. The core is not merely his quality but the number of times he has needed to become someone entirely fresh.

A version of this article was first published on 7 June, 2026.