Lionel Messi is one of the greatest pioneers in the history of soccer. In a career spanning almost two decades, Messi has dominated soccer like no one else. His rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo defined an era in the history of the game. However, Messi, who is on the wrong side of 30, has almost reached the end of his career. In his recent interview, Messi hinted at the possibility of finally hanging up his boots.
After lifting the coveted World Cup trophy in Qatar last year, Lionel Messi finally appeared in an interview. Messi appeared in an Argentine talk show, Perros de la Calle, where he spoke at length about his career, and especially about the World Cup 2022. During the interview, Messi talked about the disappointments he had faced in the past with the national team.
Leo Messi : “The cup called me and said: ‘come and grab me, now you can touch me’ pic.twitter.com/0sL9KXB4SQ
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) January 30, 2023
The PSG star said, “After so much suffering, there were times when I suffered so much with the national team, so many disappointments with losing finals, I have been always so close and I never got there, I received so much criticism from all walks of life for a long time.”
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Messi further added, “I achieved everything with the national team that I always dreamed of. I achieved everything in my career, at Barcelona on a personal level too. Winning the World Cup was closing my career in a unique way.” Messi’s statement certainly hinted at his plans of retiring from soccer soon. If Messi chooses to retire, he will have done it after winning almost all the trophies that a soccer play would even dream of winning.
Has Lionel Messi retired from the National Team?
Although there were rumors that Lionel Messi will retire from the Argentine national team after the World Cup 2022, that has not been the case. After captaining Argentine to their third World Cup title after a long wait of 36 years, Messi has no intentions of stopping. Messi has certainly ruled out any plans of retiring from the national team any time soon. However, Messi had previously retired from the national team.
#MESSI: “Even if I do not win World Cup 2018, I will continue to play for @Argentina. Announcing retirement after Copa 2016 was not right, it would be giving wrong message to the youth and the people who fight for their dreams. Keep trying and keep fighting for what you want.” pic.twitter.com/eCFh4yEWZX
— ARG Soccer News ™ 🇦🇷⚽⭐️⭐️⭐️🏆 (@ARG_soccernews) May 16, 2018
After painfully losing a second consecutive Copa America final to Chile in 2016, a frustrated Lionel Messi declared that he will not play for Argentina anymore. Messi had failed to win any major title with Argentina, losing the 2007, 2015, and 2016 Copa America finals as well as the final of the FIFA World Cup 2014. However, Messi’s retirement lasted only a few months, as he soon made a comeback.
⚡️BREAKING: #LionelMessi not retiring from International Football yet, to continue to play with Argentina National Team for some time said, in an interview with ‘TyC Sports’.
“I want to play some more matches with Argentina as the World Champions,” Lionel Messi said. pic.twitter.com/92Yw7V6aFP
— truth. (@thetruthin) December 18, 2022
Since then, Messi has gone on to win Copa America in 2021 and the FIFA World Cup in 2022. After lifting the World Cup trophy, Messi declared that he is not going to retire from the national team. The former Barca star said, “I want to play a few more games as a world champion. I want to take this one there (to Argentina) and enjoy it with everybody else.”
Messi also became the first person to win two Golden Ball awards at the World Cup. Messi previously won the award in 2014, when his side lost to Germany in the final. However, this time, Messi made sure that he went back home with the trophy that he most desired.
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