September/October 2023
what’s in THIS ISSUE
Volume 60 Issue 4
Messi to the Moon
Alvernia Athletics
International Students
Courtside, Freshens, and the Student Center
Film
It doesn’t matter if you call it soccer or football: This previous transfer window has been one for the ages. We’ve seen big moves like Harry Kane leaving the race for the Premier League all-time goalscoring record (for now) to win trophies at Bayern, or Jude Bellingham going to Real Madrid and being the player that will lead them into their next era after Benzema left for Saudi Arabia. But the transfer everyone is talking about the most is Lionel Messi. Lionel Andrés Messi was born on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina to an Italian and Spanish father and an Argentine mother. From a young age, Messi fell in love with the sport. This led to him joining his local club, Grandoli, at the age of four. This wouldn’t last long as Messi would join his boyhood club of Newell’s Old Boys. In six years there, he scored almost 500 goals, but as his career was on the up, there was a major roadblock. At the age of ten, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. His father’s insurance only covered two years, so Old Boys agreed to contribute. However, Old Boys later went back on their promise. River Plate, a club from Buenos Aires, scouted Messi but also refused to pay for his treatment. With not many options, the Messi family decided to try and arrange a trial for Messi with FC Barcelona as they had relatives in Catalonia. The board was hesitant to bring a foreign player in at such a young age, but in February 2001,
The Pink and Black Uniform Messi wears as an Iner Miami Player
the family made the trip to Spain. It didn’t start great for Messi as there was an issue with transfer, so he could only play in friendlies. Messi was already very reserved, and with his mother and sister moving back to Argentina, it got even harder for Messi. After a year at La Masia (Barcelona’s youth academy), Messi would start to play in all competitions and got integrated with the team. He didn’t just play, but he was amazing on the pitch. This would lead to him making his first team debut at the age of 16 years, four months when he would come on in the 75th minute in a friendly match against Porto. He would have to wait until he was 17 years, three months, and 22 days old to make his first official competition appearance for Barca. From that moment, Messi would never look back. Messi would spend an illustrious 17 years at Barca. At Barca, he scored almost 497 goals, the most goals in a calendar year with 91 goals, was a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and
a four-time Champions League winner, amongst many more honors. During his time at Barca, Messi would create one of the most memorable rivalries with Cristiano Ronaldo, one that would forever have them compared to each other for the rest of their careers. Because of Barca’s financial issues, Messi was forced to leave and would eventually sign with PSG. Messi spent two years at PSG, which is considered a Now that we’re through all of that, we find ourselves in this past summer. PSG had no intentions of bringing Messi back as the trio of Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe just didn’t gel. This became Esporte Espetacular that aired on September 3 saying about Messi that, “He went to heaven with the Argentina team, won everything in recent years, and with Paris he lived hell, we lived through hell, both he and I.” We saw this throughout Messi’s tenure at PSG, but the bridge burned completely when, in the middle of the
Credit: Tony Mogeluzi
Tony Mongeluzi Contributing Writer
season, Messi made an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia. This led to PSG giving him a suspension, and it was clearer than ever that Messi would leave in the summer. Where would he go through? The first scenario was that Messi would return to Barcelona. This would be a fairy tale ending to Messi’s legendary career. Unfortunately, Barcelona’s financial issues were still present, and the addition of Messi would mean players would have to take wage cuts. Messi still loves Barcelona and would not want to contribute to the club’s financial problems. Now, the second scenario was that Messi would go to Saudi Arabia. Few people agreed with this option as Saudi Arabia has been spending excessive amounts of money to lure in the top league’s players. As a result of Saudi Arabia’s deep pockets, players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane, and Neymar all now play in Saudi