Their decline was slower and lasted longer.
This guy went from goat to woat in a single year. Bbz prophetically called it but it was premature back then.
It was a simple and logical bet from me.
1. Messi never looked like a gym-freak who will be able to run in late 30s like Cr7 or Zlatan.
I am surprised that he even lasted this long.
2. mentality wise, he was again weaker than guys who managed to play in the late 30s like Cr7 or Zlatan.
3. his football style is tricky and it was bound to suffer a lot since he drops deep and relies on pace, agility and dribbles, which are gone in the 30s, especially considering that he is a not a gym-freak.
4. his decline in the last few years was huge, so it was expected that it will continue, even in the faster manner due to the age and due to him winning everything and being mentally more or less empty and not THAT interested.
The start of the last season looked like a Game over for him.
But he somehow pulled a very good 2nd part of a season.
Some people thought that it was a proof how he will stay on top for years to come, but it was just his "final dance" or "the swan song".
Something similar to how we had a dying team from 2012-2020, but that team managed to fool us once and pull a swan song in 2015, where we thought that we have a future, while it was the last dance from a team which lasted a few Months in the 2nd part of 2014/15 (the same as Messi's final show in the 2nd part of a season).
Currently, I am sad that a lot of us (me included) were harsh on Messi in his final years here.
In my case, I was more pissed with fans hyping him too much (like: he will be able to play until the age of 40 due to his technique, he can win a WC 2022 etc) than at actual Messi. (For me, the same is my hate towards Pep/Barca DNA etc. I never disliked Pep before coming to this forum. But after reading the levels of overhype towards everything which Pep touched or did, I was "forced" into the biggest Pep hater. I don't know why, I get triggered by these situations when imo someone is overhyped/overrated to insane levels).
Anyway, regarding Messi, this is the end.
Not because he is bad or anything, but because (as explained above)
1. he is almost 35. Rememeber where Ronnie, R9 or Rivaldo were in that age?
2. his style of play can't survive in the late 30s. And he surely won't turn into a poacher because he wants the ball all the time and his off the ball movement for a poacher is very bad.
3. he is physically and mentally drained after playing since 2005 for us on a top level with 50-60 matches per season. And again, he is not a gym-freak, so all he will be able to offer from now on will be: a walking granny type of football.
Thanks for everything, but he is on a verge of a retirement.