Dear Leo,
It was on a fine afternoon of 2010 World Cup, I saw you playing for the first time on television, you were just a boy of twenty three back then and since that day, football for me has never been the same, you made me fall in love with football and I am glad that I was born in an era same as yours.
Innumerable criticisms have been hurled upon you over the years for your failures which only made you stronger. I vividly recall, all my high school days were spent in debate of who is the greatest player..You or CR7 but I always felt both of you are great in your own way, however those El Clásico matches were one of a kind, I honestly miss watching them and both you and Ronaldo competing against each other.
2014 was a nightmare which shattered both you and all your fans over the world. It was 4am in the morning that day when I went to bed with a heavy heart and teary eyes considering it to be one more dream, that would never come true but then I saw you fighting till your last breath, protecting your one and only dream amidst all the accolades you achieved over the years and I learnt from you that giving up is never an option.
The day you left Barcelona it plunged me into grief and I cried my heart out seeing your tears onscreen, seeing you leaving your home where you belong and I just hope you will return soon if circumstances prevail.
I never saw God, but in you I found my God Leo, your dribbles, your dedication, you weaving magic with that left foot of yours, those dreamy passes and assists have made you a superhuman in my eyes, the deliverer who always delivers in times of trouble for both his club and country, the messiah.
After a drought of eight long years, I aspired to see rain of joy in this Qatar World Cup and I thank my lucky stars for not disappointing me this time. This World Cup was like a mixtape of emotions, witnessing all my favourite players watching whom I grew up, signing off took away an ounce of my heart yet what kept me alive is the quest to witness that long awaited moment of you lifting the World Cup. The first match with Saudi Arabia was a major setback but when you said, Argentina will fight back, it restored faith in me that, 'We will be Champions" as our captain is like the phoenix who can rise from ashes.
Sleepless nights steeped in anxiety, screaming my heart out of sheer joy everytime you scored a goal, and it was worth it. Every match was a battle that initially seemed inevitable but you along with your team emerged victorious everytime, curving my lips up to a wide smile.
It felt the whole universe conspired together for you to win the World Cup this time, the Argentine team be it defenders like De Paul, Otamendi, Acuña and Emiliano who acted as walls shielding their team, snatching the ball away from the opponents only to give it to you so that you can score. On the other hand players like Álvarez, Enzo seemed to be successfully following your footsteps which makes me feel that Argentina's future is in safe hands.
I feel equally joyous and sad at the same time as I write this because I won't be seeing you in that blue stripped white jersey ever and this is like a shock, on one fine night you played your last game for your country and it's the end of an era, a part of my childhood comes to an end today but on the other hand I am happy that your last game will be forever remembered by all the people over the world as it's a remarkable game that created history.
Even God requires an angel and I guess Di María and Scaloni were your angels who helped you to reach your goal this World Cup. You are not only the G.O.A.T of football, you are a gem of a human being as well and I guess the world revers and loves you more for that.
It still feels surreal seeing my favourite player lifting the World Cup, the only title he was left to conquer and I would like to say if football is an art then you are one of it's greatest artist. The artist who united the whole world with his magic, The magician or the Magic man as Peter Drury says, who won hearts with his love and dedication for his game.
The boy from Rosario, Argentina is now reigning over the hearts of millions but this journey wasn't easy, it was full of bittersweet experiences and this is life, a series of light and darkness as I always say yet we have to keep going like he kept going at the end of the dark tunnel to embrace light and you see light embraced him back.
It's 3am and my words are falling short to describe how I feel maybe that's how one feels when they witness something majestic, something out of the box, something so sublime that it can't be expressed in words. Argentina and Messi lifting the World Cup is such a wholesome and overwhelming feeling indeed.
I know not what lies in future, I know not if I will ever love someone the way I love LM10 probably never but football is blessed to have a discovered a player like you Leo.
People will come and go with different theories, opinions of theirs but you will be forever engraved in my heart as the one who has created all the difference, the one who stands apart, the one who is the champion of this football world.
~ your fangirl who yearns that you take your retirement returning to your home, that is Barcelona,
Srilekha Mitra