2022 FIFA WORLD CUP ‘WILL SURELY BE MY LAST’, SAYS LIONEL MESSI
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Argentina captain Lionel Messi said on Thursday that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will “surely” be the last of his career.
“It’s my last World Cup, surely. I feel good physically, I was able to do a very good pre-season this year, which I couldn’t do last year. It was essential to get to where I am, with a good state of mind and a lot of hope,” the 35-year-old told ESPN Argentina.
Messi, who is due to appear in his fifth World Cup, made his international debut in 2005 and has since won 164 caps for Argentina and is the country’s all-time record scorer with 90 goals.
Messi admitted in an interview ahead of Paris Saint-Germain’s weekend Ligue 1 game that he was nervous about the impending tournament as he bids for his last chance to win the World Cup.
“There is anxiety, nerves about the World Cup,” he said. “We can’t wait for it to start.”
Messi’s international debut as a substitute against Hungary in 2005 lasted just two minutes before he was sent off but he quicky established himself in the national team set-up and travelled to Germany for his first World Cup in 2006.
He went on to play in the 2010 edition in South Africa, 2014 in Brazil, where Argentina reached the final, and 2018 in Russia.
Many football fans regard Messi to be the best player to ever play the game, surpassing legends Pele and Diego Maradona from Brazil and Argentina as well as longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
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