Messi won’t retire from Argentina after World Cup win: Reports

Argentina skipper Lionel Messi denied rumours of his retirement post the World Cup win against France, saying he wishes to keep playing for his country.

Lionel Messi of Argentina lifts the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Winner’s Trophy following the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. | Photo Credit: Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images

Argentina skipper Lionel Messi denied rumours of his retirement post the World Cup win against France, saying he wishes to keep playing for his country.

“No, I’m not gonna retire from the national team. I want to keep playing as World Cup champions with Argentina shirt”, Messi said to TyC Sports after the match.

Messi ended the tournament with seven goals and three assists. Over the course of this tournament, Messi became the first player to assist in five World Cups.

He also bettered Gabriel Batistuta’s tally of 10 goals to become the leading scorer in La Albiceleste’s history. If the Argentina-France match is to be Messi’s last game for the national side, he’ll end his World Cup goals tally with 13 goals.

The Qatar World Cup was third in Argentina’s history. It had won two in 1978 and 1986 under Diego Maradona. Lionel Messi had come close to winning in 2014 but La Albiceleste lost the final 0-1 to Germany.

The only similarity from Messi’s 2014 campaign in Qatar was his Golden Ball award for Player of the Tournament award. He became the first player to win two World Cup Golden Balls.

There were more awards in the Argentina team. Emiliano Martinez won the Golden Glove award for the best goalkeeper while Enzo Fernandes took home the Young player of the Tournament.