Lionel Messi: Lionel Messi achieved every possible milestone with both club and country when he won the World Cup last year. He came out in a recent interview and said that if he didn’t win the World Cup this time around, he would have quit the national team after that. Leo Messi did retire once out of overwhelming emotions when he lost a final for the third time in 3 years. Hence, another similar devastating scenario can easily be imagined if he could not win last year again.
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Lionel Messi won the most coveted trophy of his life when he won the World Cup last year. He always wanted to achieve great success with his national team, but it eluded him. The World Cup was his 3rd trophy in the span of 2 years. Recently, during an interview with an Argentine TV network, Messi revealed what he would’ve done if they did not win the trophy this time. He said, “I enjoyed very much every moment throughout the World Cup. I enjoyed it like I had never done before.”
He added, “A bit because I knew it could be my last World Cup. And to be honest, I think if we had not been World Champions I would no longer be here in the national team. Absolutely, but now, being a World Champion I can’t leave the national team. I have to enjoy all this. But back then, it was like I enjoyed it and at the same time I had enormous peace of mind and confidence in the group we had.”
Lionel Messi started winning trophies with Argentina from the 2021 Copa America. The team then went on to win the Finalissims against Italy in 2022. The match is usually held between the champions of the Copa America and the Euro. They approached the World Cup 2022 with a 36-game unbeaten streak. Even though they lost their first game of the campaign, they did not look from their second match. Lionel Messi had a huge contribution to all the matches including the final.
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He scored 2 goals in the 3-3 draw against France. He also scored the penalty as the match ultimately went into a penalty shootout. As they won the trophy, Messi was asked if this was his last rodeo, to which he replied no. He said, “No, I’m not going to retiring from the Argentina national team. I want to continue playing as a champion.” Before he won the World Cup, Messi had played four finals with Argentina and they lost all of them.
That affected him as it would affect any player. He announced his retirement from the national team after losing his 4th in total and 3rd final in the span of 3 years. However, after considering his decision, he came back after a few months. It was a good thing that he came back as 6 years later, he has seen all his dreams fulfilled. However, he now has chosen to join MLS to stay away from the spotlight. He has also said that his retirement from football could come soon.
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