The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be Lionel Messi’s final tournament, the Argentine superstar declared in a conversation with Sebastián Vignolo.
“This will be my last World Cup — for sure. The decision has been made,” Messi said in the conversation.
“I’m counting down the days until the World Cup. “The truth is, there’s a little anxiety, saying: ‘Well, we’re here, what’s going to happen? It’s my last one, how’s it going to go?’. On one hand, I can’t wait for it to arrive but I’m also desperate for it to go well,” he added.
“We’re at a very good moment, with a very strong group, but anything can happen at a World Cup,” he explained. “All the matches are difficult, that is what makes a World Cup so special because the favourites are not always the ones who end up winning or even doing as well as you expect.
“I don’t know if we are the favourites, but Argentina in itself is always a candidate for history, for what it means. We are not the favourites, I think there are other teams that are above us.”
Argentina is now on a 35-game unbeaten streak dating back to 2019. Messi has been in excellent form this season for both club and country.
Leo Messi announces: “This will be my last World Cup — for sure. The decision has been made”, tells @PolloVignolo. 🚨🇦🇷 #Argentina
Important to clarify again that Messi will not decide his future between PSG and Barça now or in the next weeks; it will be in 2023. pic.twitter.com/W54EDZIpfm
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 6, 2022
Messi’s most recent victory came in the Copa America, which his team won by defeating Brazil in the championship game, last year.
If this is really his final World Cup, he will undoubtedly seek to make amends.
