Lionel Messi, the captain of Argentina’s third-time World Cup champions this Sunday, said he really wants the title and that he has “finally arrived,” stressing that he won’t turn down the qualifier.
“We suffered a lot, but we did it. It’s crazy what happened, I wanted it so much (world title). I knew that God was going to give it to me, I had a feeling what it was like to be like that. It’s finally here and now I’m going to enjoy it,” said the Argentine footballer who plays for France’s Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi became the first player to add a second World Cup Player of the Year trophy when he was elected Ballon d’Or in the 2022 edition, repeating 2014, and he holds the record for World Cup games by adding 26 º, against France, in final in Lusail, Qatar.
The number 10 shirt also ensured that he did not think about leaving the national team after winning the much coveted world title.
“I love football, I love what I do, I love being in the national team, in this group. And obviously I want to continue to live a few more games as world champion,” he said.
Messi scored two goals in the final, one of them from a penalty kick, and moved up to fourth place in the “ranking” of the top scorers of the world championships, overtaking the Brazilian Pelé. In what would be his farewell to the competition, Messi has now scored 13 goals in World Cups.
“I can’t wait to get to Argentina to see how crazy it will be,” the star said.
Argentina won the World Cup for the third time on Sunday, repeating 1978 and 1986, beating France 4-2 on penalties after 3-3 in the 120th minute.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.