Argentina Captain Lionel Messi has seemingly pressed pause on his international retirement following their pulsating 2022 World Cup victory in Qatar on Sunday.
Messi who had previously indicated that Sunday’s final would be the cap on his international career, certainly at the World Cup, has seemingly given a new lease on life on the global level after finally lifting his first world cup.
According to reports, while speaking to Argentina’s television TyC Sports, Messi said he wanted to experience playing being a world champion with his team.
“Obviously I wanted to cap my career with this and I can’t ask for anything more,” said Messi.
“What will happen after this? I’ve managed to win the Copa America and the World Cup almost at the end…”
He continued: “I love football, it’s what I do. I enjoy being in the national team and want to continue by experiencing a few more games as a world champion.”
Whether or not “a few more games” will constitute a title defense in four years’ time remains a mystery however head coach Lionel Scaloni is hoping the little Maestro will be around and willing.
“First of all, we need to save him for the next World Cup – 2026,” Scaloni said while speaking at his post-match press conference.
“If he wants to keep playing, he will be with us. He is more than entitled to decide what he wants to do with his career now”.
The 44-year-old added that he had come up with the formula of the system of play that he felt would best suit Messi and help the team maximize his presence.
“We realised that we had great players and we could facilitate things for Messi. Help him out,” the coach said. “It was about realizing who would help Messi on the pitch and feel comfortable with him.”
Messi led Argentina through a scintillating build-up in their qualification to the finals which itself was nothing short of scintillating and captivating in its climax which was ultimately decided on penalties.
The 35-year-old who has been having a standout season with club PSG capped off a memorable tournament with seven goals, which led to him not only bagging Argentina’s third title but also his second golden ball award.
