DOHA, Qatar — Lionel Messi cried when he left Argentina. He was 13 years old and zooming down Ruta Nacional 9, from Rosario to a Buenos Aires airport, with endless pastures whizzing by, when tears welled and fears of a faraway land set in.
Messi was, at the time, just Leo, a 4-foot-8 prodigy with skyscraping dreams. And to chase them, he had to sacrifice. He had to hurriedly wave goodbye to friends and to comfort, to family and to his favorite places on Earth. To jumpstart his rise to the top of global soccer, he had to jet to Barcelona; he had to leave home.