To suggest the next 12 months may well define Lionel Messi's career would be doing a disservice to what we have witnessed up close over the past 18 campaigns.
From boy wonder to the greatest player ever in the view of many, and now into a new chapter with Paris Saint-Germain, the Argentina forward has nothing to prove to anyone.
And yet on the day he turns 35 – the average age of retirement for a footballer – questions continue to be asked of Messi.
Will he win a World Cup – still in the eyes of many the real barometer of a truly great player, even in the era of the Champions League – before he retires?
Can he prove himself in a different country after a mixed first season in France? Both of those questions will be answered before he celebrates his 36th birthday in a year's time.
Stats Perform looks at how Messi's game has already changed, and whether he is still capable of inspiring club and country to glory in possibly the biggest year of his career.
MESSI 2.0
Ten months have passed since the shock announcement that Messi was bringing an end to his 21-year association with Barcelona to join Ligue 1 giants PSG.
By his own high standards, Messi's first campaign in Paris was far from great. He scored 11 goals in 34 appearances, down on the 38 scored in his last season with Barca.
And those 11 goals came from an expected goals (xG) value of 16.8, meaning he scored 5.8 goals fewer than he should have based on the quality of his chances.
Among players in Europe's top-five leagues in all competitions last season, only six others had a worse return, with Lille striker Burak Yilmaz (8.11 differential) topping the list.
There were extenuating circumstances, of course, with Messi himself recently opening up on just how badly he struggled after testing positive for coronavirus in January.
The La Masia product also had to adapt to life outside the place he had called home for more than two decades, seeing him take on an entirely different role.
While his scoring figures dropped considerably, Messi set up 14 league goals – only once in his last five seasons at Camp Nou (21 in 2019-20) did he assist more in a campaign.
The majority of his assists last season came from a left-of-centre position outside the box, where he predominantly played alongside Neymar and just off Kylian Mbappe.
RONALDO SHOWS THE WAY
The 11 goals Messi scored at the age of 34 is his lowest return since the eight he netted when aged 18 and still in the infancy of his Barcelona career.
While that can be put down to a change of scenery, and being in the unfamiliar role of having to play second-fiddle to Mbappe, age is also surely a factor.
At 35 – or 34 as he was last season – Messi will inevitably have to rely more on his footballing brain than his legs to give him an advantage over opponents.
As showed by Cristiano Ronaldo, though, age is just a number when it comes to the very best, the Portugal star having scored 75 goals in 102 games since his 35th birthday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, four months shy of his 41st birthday, has scored an impressive 112 goals in 174 appearances since hitting 35, an age often perceived as being 'over the hill'.
ALL EYES ON QATAR
Playing a supporting role may well be something we must come accustomed to when it comes to club level, but for Argentina Messi very much still remains the main man.
That was clear to see earlier this month when, in his final game in a gruelling campaign, Messi scored all five of Argentina's goals in their thumping friendly win over Estonia.
That five-goal showing rightly attracted plenty of focus, though it was arguably four days earlier in his side's 3-0 'Finalissima' victory over Italy that Messi truly showed his quality.
Messi pulled the strings from a slightly deeper position as Argentina, who also boast the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Angel Di Maria and Paulo Dybala, showed their credentials.
He assisted two of Argentina's three goals, including a delightful turn to leave Giovanni Di Lorenzo trailing in his wake before setting up Martinez for a simple finish.
On the back of ending their 28-year wait for silverware in 2021 with victory at the Copa America, Lionel Scaloni's men now look good value to challenge for the World Cup.
Regardless of any more titles he adds to his collection at PSG, Messi lifting the most famous trophy of them all in Qatar later this year would be the defining image of his career.
Different now he may be, but Messi has a chance to show in his 35th year that he has plenty more left in the tank to turn a great career into the greatest.
'I have nothing against him' - Leao brushes off rumours of feud with Fonseca
Rafael Leao has shrugged off suggestions of a feud between him and Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca despite starting fewer games in recent weeks.
The winger started three consecutive Serie A matches on the bench after the last international break, coming on to make substitute appearances in two of those.
He returned to the starting line-up for their 3-3 draw with Cagliari last time out, netting twice in the first half to bring his tally up to three goals for the season, and 50 overall in Serie A.
Leao has also provided three assists in the Italian top-flight, while he has both attempted (36) and completed (24) the most dribbles of any Milan player in the competition.
There were reports of tension between Leao and Fonseca due to the former's lack of playing time in recent weeks, but he brushed off the idea.
"These things happen during the season, I have nothing against him, and he has nothing against me," Leao said while at Portugal's training ground.
"It's all settled. I don't like being on the bench, obviously, but he makes the decisions and I, as a player, have to respect the coach.
"When I step onto the pitch, I have to do my best to help the team."
Leao has also impressed with performances in the Champions League this season, especially against Real Madrid in a 3-1 win, as he registered an assist for their third goal.
However, he has also come under criticism in Italy, with one pundit claiming he has a poor work ethic, suggesting he only puts in effort in big games.
"Clearly, I do not agree with that," Leao added about the recent comments.
"I have been having a great season at Milan but, like everyone else, there are ups and downs. The campaign has only just started. Look, I know that I am not the perfect player and sometimes I can do much better.
"I am not shaken by this criticism. I have people who help me to improve and those are the ones I have to listen to. This criticism just spurs me on to respond on the pitch."
Australia 0-0 Saudi Arabia: Visitors denied last-gasp winner on Renard's return
Saudi Arabia had a stoppage-time goal ruled out as Herve Renard's first game since returning as Saudi Arabia head coach ended in a 0-0 draw against Australia in World Cup qualifying.
Sultan Al-Ghannam fired through a sea of bodies in the 94th minute of Thursday's Group C contest at AAMI Park, but the celebrations were cut short due to an offside infringement.
Referee Ali Saeed Al Naqbi had earlier irked the home side by awarding a 12th-minute penalty for an Ahmed Al-Kassar challenge on Mitch Duke, which was then overturned.
Replays showed the incident happened just outside the box, but Australia felt the Saudi keeper should have been sent off and not issued just a yellow card.
Joe Gauci pulled off a fine double save later in the first half, albeit the offside flag later went up, but it was Australia who did more to win the game prior to the late drama.
Brandon Borrello was played clean through on goal and opted to square to Riley McGree, who was unable to help the ball past covering defender Saud Abdulhamid in front of goal.
Data Debrief: Another blank for both sides
Australia entered this game without a goal against Saudi Arabia in 2,716 days - a run that will extend for a little while longer after this latest blank.
The Socceroos have failed to score in three of their five third-round qualifying games, while Saudi Arabia have gone three in a row without netting.
Tony Popovic's side will justifiably argue they did more to win the game, though, finishing with an expected goals value (xG) of 1.31 to Saudi Arabia's 0.05, but the teams remain locked on points in Group C.
Carsley focusing on positives after nine England drop-outs
Lee Carsley wants the England players at his disposal to "make the most of the situation" after nine others dropped out through injury.
Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite on Wednesday became latest player to withdraw from the Nations League games with Greece and Republic of Ireland.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Aaron Ramsdale and Levi Colwill have also dropped out.
England captain Harry Kane has admitted to being unhappy with the large number of withdrawals for interim boss Carsley's final two games in charge.
However, Carsley attempted to put a positive spin on the situation when speaking at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday ahead of facing Greece.
"The focus all camp has been on the players that are here and it's important that we make the most of the situation," he told reporters.
"With the amount of players that have pulled out, it gives other players an opportunity to be here.
"We're really looking forward to the game and it's going to be a tough test for us and the focus has been purely on the players that are here.
"With the amount of pull-outs we've had in the window, historically it's been like that in the past - November has always been a challenging window.
"But the culture that Gareth [Southgate], Steve [Holland] and the rest of the lads created has made it a really positive environment and the players that are here thoroughly deserve to be here."
Grealish was one of the first players to withdraw from the squad, having been called up despite not playing for club side Manchester City since 20 October.
City boss Pep Guardiola questioned England's decision to include Grealish in their squad as he recovers from injury, but Carsley insisted he was justified in doing so.
"The medical teams are constantly talking throughout squad selection, regardless of whether there are games or not," Carsley said.
"We are constantly getting updates. The medical departments have brilliant communication between club and country.
"It was always the case we were going to get the players who were potentially going to miss out in to the assessed. Jack was one of them. He was assessed and sent back and it was as clear as that."
England trail Group B2 leaders Greece by three points with two rounds of fixtures to play, having lost the reverse fixture 2-1 at Wembley last month.
The Three Lions have won on all four of their previous trips to face Greece, doing so by an aggregate score of 9-1 - only against Luxembourg (5/5) do they hold a better 100% win rate away from home.
However, Greece are on the longest active winning run of any European nation in all competitions (five games) and could win six consecutive matches for the first time November 2013.
Carsley, who will step aside for Thomas Tuchel after next week's home match with Republic of Ireland, said: "We're expecting a tough game against Greece and it’s one we have to win.
"But we're really looking forward to it, we've had a good week's training, the players are in good spirits and it's going to be a sell out with a great atmosphere.
"We've had to wait four or five weeks for this, but this next window is so important to us, not just tomorrow but Republic of Ireland as well, so it's a great challenge for us."
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