Uh-

I think one of the disadvantages, I would say, of the 48 team World Cup is, is the way the third place team goes through.

I think you've got this lottery kind of system where the eighth of, you know, eight of the third place teams go through.

It ends up in this situation where you're possibly not gonna have three draws...

I mean, sorry, three wins like Argentina and, um, Mexico and France had because you're pretty much qualified after two wins.

And also you've got teams that'll probably play for a draw in the last game.

So I think that's probably created o- one of those, um, factors, and then there is a little bit of a luck of the draw in terms of which, um, group you end up with.

So what does it say about where Asian football stands now compared to elite level? And whether overall, looking at the world level, football is improving across continents and catching up to Europe and Americas?

So how would you compare, you know, Barcelona Messi to this late-stage Argentina Messi? What changed for him on the international level?

I mean, uh, look, a lot of things.

I think, I, I mean, I've had the privilege of seeing him, uh, up close live when he was breaking into the Barcelona team, um, as a kid.

Saw him in preseason games, um, playing and, you know, he was just a phenomenal player.

Just how close, uh, the ball would stay to his feet, how that change of pace take players on from playing out wide right.

Um, and I think if you look at when he was peak Barcelona Messi, um, you know, that's what he was doing, just could beat, uh, multiple players, score phenomenal goals, combine with, um, teammates.

And at the same time, the way Argentina played and the way the national team was structured, you could probably argue that it didn't best suit, um, his game.

So what does it take, you know, for a player, uh, to, you know, remain that consistent across these intense few weeks and devel- deliver when the, you know, stakes are the highest?

How are they approaching the season knowing they are essentially paying the price for the administrative impasse?

I think it's a combination of things.

I mean, a lot of us within the game, I'm talking about coaches, people who worked in the administration and club management, didn't necessarily have that much sympathy for the players at the time of their pleas because it's a bit rich.

pardon the pun, for these players to be talking about, you know, oh, we're having to take pay cuts and, you know, when you're earning significantly more than the market value.

And let's not forget, the ISL is not Indian football, right? So these players are not, when they spoke, they spoke about themselves and other, their fellow ISL players.

They didn't touch upon the entire ecosystems.

Which is why I just said it's a bit rich because there's a lot of people who are suffering.

Could you tell us a little more about how, you know, how were they impacted by this? So I think