History tells us that genius cannot exist safely in a vacuum, for to be completely unique is to be entirely alone.
The grandest epics are never stories of a single soul, but of pairs. The ancient texts give us Rama, a legendary figure who could only endure his 14-year exile because Lakshman chose to walk the wilderness beside him.
Relatively modern mythology echoes this truth through Frodo Baggins, whose march into Mordor would have failed had Samwise Gamgee not been there to bear the weight of the world when the hero’s knees buckled. Even the brilliant mind of Sherlock Holmes required the grounding presence of Dr. John Watson to keep him from spinning into chaos.
Back in 2014, when an 18-year-old Rodrigo De Paul was beginning his professional journey at Racing Club, watching Lionel Messi taste the bitter heartbreak of the World Cup final, his path was already aligning with this archetype. Breaking into a fractured national team of Argentina in 2018, De Paul entered the locker room with a singular focus: to protect the genius.
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A symbiotic brotherhood took root, distinctly separate from the club-level friendships Messi had shared with Dani Alves, Neymar, or Luis Suarez at Barcelona. Those were bonds formed at the equal altitude of Europe’s peaks, whereas De Paul’s devotion was something rarer.
When Messi migrated to the United States to turn soccer into football, De Paul defied the conventional European career trajectory -- leaving a starting role at Atletico Madrid -- to follow him to Inter Miami, ensuring they shared the daily rhythm on and off the pitch. It was a reunion that prompted fans to humorously remark that Messi now officially had a second bodyguard.
Whether standing as a shield in stadium tunnels, accompanying him on a tour in India, or smirking while the captain was furiously berating Dutch coach Louis van Gaal in the 2022 edition, De Paul became the natural satellite orbiting arguably the greatest footballer to have lived.
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For over 20 years, the world had treated Messi as an “alien” displaying out-of-the-world skills and, simultaneously, an overburdened introverted figure carrying the impossible, crushing expectations of an entire homeland. In his early years, despite having reached his peak prowess, the football gods isolated him, leaving him to wander through international heartbreaks and later uprooting him from Barcelona, the club of his life.
In those difficult phases, he lacked the one essential element that the greatest of superheroes require to survive their destiny: an anchor.
The proof of Messi-De Paul’s telepathic alchemy manifested beautifully on yesterday morning (Bangladesh time), as the lights of Kansas City illuminated screens across the world. As the Algeria defence sought to choke the space, De Paul -- virtually reading between the literal lines, operating in close physical and psychological proximity from his right-sided midfield station -- threaded a spectacular pass through the teeth of four defenders, finding the master on the loose.
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The pass collapsed the wavefunctions of reality into the inevitable, allowing Messi to roll his marker, drive forward, and unleash a thumping projectile into the back of the net.
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It was pure footballing poetry, but the most profound image came as the legendary number ten wiped his tears with his shirt. Messi said he was crying for a personal reason unrelated to the sport. "Why did I cry? It was something completely unrelated to football. I went through some difficult days.”
While Messi kept his reasons private, De Paul’s post-match words provided a window into a soul experiencing the intoxicating relief of a lifted burden.
"I feel he's enjoying it, that he no longer feels the weight of that burden he carried for so long," De Paul said. "He looks in great shape."
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It is not merely that Messi commands devotion through excellence. Acts of altruism -- surrendering a penalty to a teammate, or financing the wages of a crisis-hit federation’s staff -- carve out their own legacy. Most profoundly, his quiet nature in an era of loud personalities has bound this Argentine side into a collective beehive mentality, entirely purged of toxic ego.
"It's an advantage to have Leo, because of how he manages the group and leads it forward, because of who he is," De Paul added.
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By dedicating his tireless engine to running the hard yards on and off the pitch, the faithful companion had become an integral part of the legendary lore of one of the game’s precious gems, raising the probability that Messi’s remaining touches would be a cause for pure celebration.
"Whatever comes next is something to enjoy… I love playing football, it's been my passion since I was little," Messi said.
Courtesy of De Paul, fans have been given an unlikely, extended period of stardust spreading in sky blue and whites. For a large chunk of the past decade and a half, it was Messi and Argentina, as the country could never own him in spirit due to the feeling that he could hardly replicate his club accolades in national colours.
But the story since the Qatar triumph, sandwiched between two continental silverwares, is all about Argentina’s Messi and, now in full force, Messi’s Argentina.
