From dazzling winger to veteran who barely runs - the evolution of Messi

If Argentina are to become the first nation to successfully defend their World Cup crown since 1962 - and just the third ever - you can almost guarantee Lionel Messi will be at the centre of it.

The 38-year-old is preparing for his sixth World Cup - which will be a joint record with Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Mexico's Guillermo Ochoa - but it will be a very different Messi from the one who made his debut for Barcelona back in 2003.

Most players decline. The elite ones find ways to adapt. Ronaldo reinvented himself as a penalty-box predator when his pace went.

Messi has not adapted to decline. He has adapted so he can dominate and stay ahead of a game that has always been chasing him.

Since that 16-year-old made his Barca debut in a friendly against Jose Mourinho's Porto, playing on the right, dribbling and often cutting inside, Messi has reinvented himself at least five times to evolve into the player he is now for Argentina and Inter Miami.

When Ronaldinho, the then best and most recognisable player in the world, saw him train for the first time, he said "he will be the best".

Two years later, in August 2005, Messi announced himself to the world in the Joan Gamper Trophy against Juventus. Fabio Capello, the Juventus manager, was so startled by the 18-year-old that he reportedly tried to sign him.

By the time Messi was 21, with Ronaldinho fading and the baton passing, then Barca manager Frank Rijkaard was clear about what the team needed from him.