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#2. Humility in the face of greatness
This is such an overlooked value, humility. When loaded with the kind of gifts that Leo Messi has been granted with, it’s easy to go overboard with it.
Hell, take any common-or-garden high school jock – if he can run faster, jump longer, or shoot a football harder than you, he’s going to lord it over you. So when you know you are more talented than anyone in the history of the world’s most popular sport, it would be a forgivable offence if he were to shown a touch of arrogance, or throw a bit of a tantrum. But not Messi. There are no “it’s all about me” shenanigans, there are no cringeworthy celebrations, not once will he show even a hint of unhappiness if someone else scores instead of him, and he celebrates goals with the same enthusiasm and childish - regardless of whether he had a hand in it or not. And if there is a teammate better placed than him, he will pass – almost every single time.
This humility was evident when he passed on the ball to Neymar come crunch time in that insane PSG second leg – allowing the better player on the night to take the penalty when he so easily could have hogged the headlines by scoring it. It is evident everytime he steps on the field along with his bosom buddies Neymar and Luis Suarez – the joy that permeates from that trio reflects the very best of what our beautiful game stands for.
It’s an intangible – but it’s these immeasurable values that add weight to the tangibility of numbers, isn’t it?
P.S. The new bearded Messi seems a lot angrier with life at large, but his humility still hasn’t deserted him completely. That’s just part of who he is, isn’t it?
