On Wednesday morning, Lionel Messi was found guilty of tax evasion and given 21 months in prison.
His defence – that he "knew nothing" about his own financial affairs – apparently didn't impress the court. Because of the vagaries of Spanish law, Messi will not serve a sentence in jail.
He's still free to move about Europe. His career will continue unhindered. But still. Someone cheated and Messi got the multimillion-dollar benefit. That can't be shrugged off as a misunderstanding.
It's Messi's second very bad day in as many weeks. After losing in the final of the Copa America, he seemed to quit the Argentine team in a huff. He worded it so oddly – first saying that it was not the time for "analysis," and then almost immediately saying "this is the end for me with the national team" – people weren't sure what he meant.
But in the days since, Messi has done nothing to correct the impression that he's done playing for his country. Other Argentina stars have threatened to quit in his wake.
This is the human fulcrum of one of the most soccer-mad countries on Earth – one that still stands first in the FIFA world rankings – giving up in his prime because … because what? Because he isn't winning? Most soccer stars don't win international trophies either, but they keep showing up for the national team as long as they're able and wanted.
That Messi was not crushed under the weight of popular opinion is proof of the enormous surplus of goodwill he's built up over the years. One wonders how much of that deep well has now been drained.
It is a bit late in the day to begin a complete reconsideration of Messi as a public figure. He's 29 and has been an object of global fascination for well over a decade. During that time, he'd cemented the reputation of a preternaturally gifted man-boy; a sort of head-wagging child of God. He accomplished it by being a genius on the field and then saying as little as possible off it.
We're beginning to get a sense of why the second part was so important. Perhaps Messi isn't the sharpest tool in the drawer.
He also thrived by comparison to his only real rival, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Where Messi was light, Ronaldo was dark. While Messi seemed like nothing but fun to be around, Ronaldo seemed like a preening, self-absorbed dipstick. It is received wisdom that Messi is the better of the two, in every sense.
A month ago, you'd have said for a certainty that Ronaldo was doomed to be viewed by history as the pinch-faced Salieri to Messi's ebullient Mozart.
Isn't it amazing how much can change in a few hours?
Shortly after Messi was stitched up in court, Ronaldo had the finest day of his international career.
Portugal staggered into Wednesday's semi-final against Wales. It hadn't won a game at Euro 2016 during regulation. It was missing its best defender, Pepe, through injury. Ronaldo had been far from his best. His most notable highlight of the tournament was snatching the microphone from a pushy reporter and chucking it in a nearby lake.
There was the creeping sense of a long fall about to result in an audible impact.
Then they played the game.
Ronaldo took hold of a Welsh team determined to grind the contest to a walking pace and gave it a good, hard shake. He scored the first goal himself – a rocket header made possible by a breathtaking leap over a scrum in front of the goal. He made the second three minutes later. Portugal won handily, 2-0. It will face either France or Germany in Sunday's final.
On either side of those goals, Ronaldo did yeoman's work tracking back to gum up the increasingly desperate Welsh set-up. He was as good on the defensive end as he was in attack.
When it ended, he sought out his Real Madrid teammate, Gareth Bale, and spent several long, sympathetic moments holding on to him. Ronaldo may be a compulsive braggart and unbearable show-off, but he knows what this sort of disappointment feels like. There was real empathy in that embrace.
Like Messi, Ronaldo's been very close, but never won anything on the international stage. He's also ended tournaments with almighty tantrums.
After being bounced in the quarters of Euro 2008, Ronaldo tore off his captain's armband, threw it on the ground and stalked off the pitch without shaking anyone's hand. He was slaughtered for it in the press. For many, his reputation never recovered.
But he came back.
When Ronaldo first arrived in the senior team, Portugal had players who were his equal – Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Deco, et al. That quality has steadily declined in the years since. (By contrast, Argentina has got better – at least on paper – during Messi's tenure.)
A decade on, Ronaldo is the only genuine star remaining to Portugal. He's also the only one who gets the blame when things go wrong. He's 31 years old – the same age at which Pele quit international soccer. Ronaldo could have packed it in and resigned himself to cashing professional cheques.
But he always came back.
The reward for that perseverance is one more chance.
If Portugal were to take this Euro, you would have to say that it was almost entirely down to Ronaldo's presence. No man has been generally credited with winning a major tournament by himself since Messi's own Ghost of Christmas Past, Diego Maradona, did it at the World Cup in 1986.
Like Ronaldo, Maradona was generally disliked. Like Ronaldo, it was largely his own fault.
But considering that performance, the soccer world has conceded that Maradona was undeniably great in the only arena that mattered – the one with the grass and the seats.
On Sunday, Ronaldo has that same chance to define his own legacy. Whatever you may think of him, what can't be denied is that through his stubborn steadfastness, he's earned it.
Cathal Kelly