What if: Messi won the World Cup?
In this section, we give alternate endings to memorable moments in sports and imagine how it would have impacted the present.
Argentina came agonisingly close to winning the World Cup in 2014 against Germany, only to miss a bundle of chances and see Mario Gotze score in Extra Time and break millions of Argentina fans' hearts.
Their talisman and captain Lionel Messi won player of the tournament but he is yet to win a trophy with the national team, raising questions about his GOAT (greatest of all time) status and his big-match temperament.
So what if Messi and Argentina won the World Cup? What if Messi had an international trophy, the biggest one in the world.
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The GOAT debate would end
There would be no doubt then that Messi is the GOAT and his status would not be debated.
The Messi and Cristiano Rivalry might not have heated up as much as it did afterwards.
And given Messi's stats for his club, and the World Cup, it would be undisputed that he is the best ever.
That would be a big win for Messi fans but for neutrals, it perhaps would not be the most attractive scenario.
Messi never retires from Argentina
The defeat in the final led to a lot of heartbreak for Messi and his team in the latter years as they reached the final of the Copa America in back-to-back years and fail to win a single one.
As a result, Messi reached breaking-point after the final of the Copa America Centenario and emotionally announced his retirement from the Argentina national team.
It was the first time we saw him really struggle to deal with the situation and it is undoubtedly the lowest point in his career.
He has returned back to the national team but the ghosts of the past still haunt him.
Messi would enjoy football like he did
The way things have panned out for Messi after that World Cup final, it has become evident that he does not enjoy football as he once did.
There is a lot more scrutiny when he plays in a big match and the rare occasion he doesn't do well.
And after that retirement from Argentina and the subsequent return, it has become clear that he does not enjoy playing for the national team as much as he did before.
He puts a lot of pressure on himself to perform and do well and if the team doesn't get the desired result, he takes it all on himself.
Things have also gone sour between him and the Barcelona board and talks often emerge of him leaving the Catalan club.
