Menu
Menu

What the highlights leave out.

Lionel Messi seated on the grass, seen from behind and turning his head, in Argentina's number 10 shirt.

Football documentaries, with a new film every Sunday at 3 PM UK.

The Messi film

Messi, Argentina v Egypt, 7 July 2026. Photo: Bryan Berlin / CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted.

The Messi film, frame by frame, in film order.

  1. Slow aerial move past a modern stadium, wetlands and blue sky.

    0:03 Intro

  2. Small black figures walking across a sunlit pitch, a long stand shadow in the foreground.

    0:08 Intro

  3. Steam rising from a mate gourd, with an open book and a pen on a wooden desk in soft light.

    0:45 Intro

  4. An old, worn football at rest against a kerb on an empty street at low sun.

    1:00 Intro

  5. A two-storey house with shutters and an iron balcony under a hard blue sky, in the Rosario neighbourhood where Messi grew up.

    1:04 Rosario. Photo: TitiNicola / CC BY-SA 4.0

  6. Glowing hot steel on rollers in a dark steel plant, with steam.

    1:15 Rosario

  7. Six boys in red and black kit, seen from behind, walking across a dusty floodlit pitch behind a ball.

    1:34 Rosario

  8. A man and a small boy, seen from behind, waiting on orange chairs in a pale green clinic corridor.

    A Corridor.ACorridor.

    1:43 Rosario

  9. Rows of empty red and white seats in the stands of the Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, on a raking diagonal.

    2:00 Rosario. Photo: Stefano Vigorelli / CC BY-SA 4.0

  10. A dirt lane between low houses at dusk, leading to a lit pitch.

    2:04 Rosario

  11. Iron gate and painted post with a hand-painted 10, in the Rosario neighbourhood where Messi grew up.

    2:08 Rosario. Photo: TitiNicola / CC BY-SA 4.0

  12. A handwritten paper napkin, pen and coffee cups on a restaurant table, by a window at dusk.

    2:29 The Napkin

  13. An empty tennis court at night, with a house and two umbrella pines behind it.

    2:33 The Napkin

  14. A Napkin.ANapkin.

    2:44 The Napkin

  15. A hand on an aeroplane window, with the wing and pink clouds outside.

    3:07 The Napkin

  16. Looking up between Gothic stone walls and a tower against a pale sky, Barcelona (the stock page tags it Barcelona).

    3:11 The Napkin. Video: caelan / Pixabay

  17. A white football and a navy sports bag on bare boards in a pale room at night, an old telephone on a side table.

    3:19 The Napkin

  18. Smoke drifting under the roof of a floodlit blue stadium at night.

    3:21 The Napkin

  19. An athletics stadium at night from high above, floodlights in haze and a city behind.

    3:46 The Breakthrough

  20. A packed stadium at dusk, with long shadows on the pitch and pale blue and white flags in the far stand.

    4:19 The Breakthrough

  21. A white ball rolling left to right across mown grass, camera following.

    5:26 The Peak

  22. Figures silhouetted walking towards a glowing gold-roofed stadium among palm trees, under a dark blue sky with a crescent moon.

    6:00 The Peak

  23. Figures in evening dress, seen from behind, in a dark theatre with gold curtains and an empty lectern.

    6:08 The Peak

  24. Low tracking move along a white touchline in an empty stadium.

    6:44 The Peak

  25. Messi in Barcelona colours chasing alongside a Juventus player with EVRA 33 on his shirt, on open green. 2015 Champions League final, Berlin. Marks blurred in the film.

    7:01 The Peak. Photo: Biser Todorov / CC BY 3.0

  26. A man in a long coat walking past a wooden plinth on a dark pitch strewn with gold paper, in rain.

    7:43 The Weight of the Shirt

  27. A lone player in pale blue and white stripes walking towards a distant goal and a huddled team, on a blue-lit pitch at night.

    8:02 The Weight of the Shirt

  28. A pale blue and white striped shirt on a hook in an empty wood-panelled dressing room.

    A Shirt.AShirt.

    8:32 The Weight of the Shirt

  29. Messi, smiling, reaching out to two Barcelona teammates on the pitch, with a full stand behind them. Crests and sponsors blurred in the film.

    9:08 Goodbye, Barcelona. Photo: Juan C. Niño / CC BY-SA 2.0

  30. Messi seen from behind in a Barcelona shirt with a yellow 10, stands and a linesman ahead. Sponsor blurred in the film.

    9:17 Goodbye, Barcelona. Photo: Hugo Pérez Marsol / CC BY 2.0

  31. A worn suitcase, boots and packing boxes in a room with slatted sun on the floor.

    A Suitcase.ASuitcase.

    9:57 Goodbye, Barcelona

  32. Reflected light moving over a contract and pens on a dark table, rain-streaked city window behind.

    9:59 Goodbye, Barcelona

  33. Aerial view of Paris from above the Seine, looking over the Trocadero towards La Defense.

    10:16 Goodbye, Barcelona. Video: zephylwer0 / Pixabay

  34. A huge dark oval stadium with empty tiers and a bright floodlit pitch at the centre.

    10:34 Champion of the World

  35. Aerial view of Lusail Stadium, Qatar, in daylight haze: a gold bowl in flat land, with towers on the horizon.

    11:08 Champion of the World. Photo: Djawed_vlog / CC BY 3.0

  36. A plain white football on a touchline, stadium lights melting into gold bokeh behind it.

    11:27 Champion of the World

  37. Aerial view of the Obelisco, Buenos Aires, above Avenida 9 de Julio in low warm light.

    11:32 Champion of the World. Video: Coverr

  38. Top-down aerial view of a marina (the stock page tags it Miami): rows of moored boats and sun on the water.

    12:42 Miami. Video: Vroyx / Pixabay

  39. Players in pink and gold, seen from behind, arms linked at the halfway line, watching a lone figure walk towards a goal in fog.

    13:02 Miami

  40. Inter Miami players in pink gathered on the pitch at night, visiting players in yellow around them, raised hands silhouetted in the foreground. Inter Miami v Real Salt Lake. Boards blurred in the film.

    13:09 Miami. Photo: TheSoccerBoy / CC BY 4.0

  41. A huge street crowd from above at night, red flares and smoke between apartment blocks.

    13:41 Miami

  42. Gold and silver paper strips falling onto grass against a pink sky.

    14:04 Miami

  43. The Miami skyline at night across dark water, with coloured reflections.

    14:39 Miami. Photo: Don Ramey Logan / CC BY 4.0

  44. Messi seated on the grass, seen from behind and turning his head, in Argentina's 10 shirt, against plain green. Argentina v Egypt, 7 July 2026.

    14:54 One Last Dance. Photo: Bryan Berlin / CC BY-SA 4.0

  45. Lautaro Martinez with his arm around Messi, both seen from behind in Argentina stripes. Argentina v Egypt, 7 July 2026.

    15:13 One Last Dance. Photo: Bryan Berlin / CC BY-SA 4.0

  46. The Rosario riverfront at night, with lights across the water under an orange sky and a broken fence in the foreground.

    A River.ARiver.

    16:10 One Last Dance. The Rosario riverfront at night. Photo: Norberto Kolus / CC BY-SA 3.0

  47. A striped pale blue and white shirt and a folded armband on a bed in a sunlit room, with boots on the floorboards.

    16:43 One Last Dance

  48. Fireworks and white smoke above the dark rim of a stadium.

    16:51 One Last Dance

  49. Low tracking move along a touchline in an empty stadium with pink lit seating.

    17:46 Legacy

  50. The Monumento a la Bandera, Rosario, at dawn, with its reflecting pool and an orange sky over the Parana.

    18:18 Legacy. Photo: Scarabinol / CC BY-SA 4.0

What Talisman is

A highlight shows you what happened.

It can’t tell you why a player mattered or why a rivalry never cooled.

Talisman makes the films that can, with a new one every Sunday.

Inset frames from the Messi film. Messi seated, photo: Bryan Berlin / CC BY-SA 4.0.

The week on Talisman. All at 3 PM UK.

Sunday

The documentary, 3 PM UK

Figures in evening dress, seen from behind, in a dark theatre with gold curtains and an empty lectern.

Wednesday

A football quiz, 3 PM UK

Fireworks and white smoke above the dark rim of a stadium.

Friday

A countdown, 3 PM UK

An old, worn football at rest against a kerb on an empty street at low sun.

Daily

Shorts: face and kit puzzles, clips from the films

Two more films are made. Neither has a release date.

MessiMessi

Sunday 1 November 2026

Liverpool and Manchester UnitedLiverpool andManchester United

Cristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo

Every fact cited.Every factcited.

The documentaries are the heart of this channel. They cover players and rivalries, each one is researched, and the sources are listed in the description.

Read the credits.

The Monumento a la Bandera, Rosario, at dawn, with its reflecting pool and an orange sky over the Parana.

Keep Sunday free.Keep Sundayfree.

Monumento a la Bandera, Rosario. Photo: Scarabinol / CC BY-SA 4.0