It has been a sad couple of days for the world's best player.
Even after a Treble-winning season with Barcelona, Lionel Messi landed in Chile with a big chip on his shoulder: to win a major professional title with his national team, Argentina. After falling short one year earlier at the World Cup despite a Golden Ball performance, Messi really wanted to lead his team to a Copa América championship, and to lift the trophy as the team captain.
Reunited with former Blaugrana coach Tata Martino, Leo got to play a similar role to the one he has now with the Catalans: coming from right to center, joining the midfield, and working as a creator for the likes of Sergio Agüero and Ángel Di María.