Birthday Gift

The celebrations at Wembley Stadium were over, but the media frenzy was only just beginning.

The league season had ended, and nearly every outlet had turned its attention to last night's FA Cup final.

The front page of The Times sports section featured a shot of Chen Anno's half-volley: his right instep taut as the ball had just left his foot, with Ospina's diving silhouette in the background.

The headline had only four words: He Did It Again.

The Liverpool Echo cover showed three trophies and one empty space: the League Cup, the Premier League, and the FA Cup lined up side by side, with a question mark over the vacant spot.

The meaning was obvious. Only the final piece of the puzzle remained.

Marca, meanwhile, shifted the focus to the UEFA Champions League a few days away: "Annuo Destroyed Arsenal. Is Real Madrid Next?"

An FA Cup match in England had been covered by major media outlets across Europe because of one name: Chen Anno.

Castelldefels, Barcelona.

Messi sat on the living room sofa, holding a can of mate tea.

The television was replaying Liverpool's match against Arsenal.

On screen, Chen Anno completed that half-volley. The ball slammed into the net, and Wembley's red volcano erupted.

Messi picked up the remote and pressed pause.

On the same day as Liverpool's FA Cup final, Messi had also contributed a goal and an assist to help Barcelona win Spain's Copa del Rey.

But Barcelona had been knocked out by Paris in the UEFA Champions League round of sixteen this season, while Real Madrid had finished above them in the league.

What could a Copa del Rey title really cover up?

The board's infighting and endless breaks, the club's financial collapse, the team's failed transition between generations...

Whenever contract renewals came