Former Barcelona legend, Lionel Messi has revealed that he would have quit international football if Argentina had not won the 2022 World Cup.
The Argentine skipper scored twice for La Albiceleste in the World Cup final in Qatar against France as it ended in 3-3 after extra time and went all the way to penalties.
He also converted his spot-kick in the shoot- out as Argentina bagged their third global crown. After picking up the Golden Ball award, Messi emphatically declared that he “was not going to retire from the Argentina national team. I want to continue playing as a champion.”
However, in a recent interview with an Argentine TV network he admitted that he would have hung up his boots if Argentina had failed to lift the trophy.
The ex-Paris St Germain forward stated that “I enjoyed very much every moment throughout the World Cup. I enjoyed it like I had never done before. A bit because I knew it could be my last World Cup. And to be honest, I think if we had not been World Champions I would no longer be here in the national team. “Absolutely, but now, being a World Champion I can’t leave the national team. I have to enjoy all this. But back then, it was like I enjoyed it and at the same time I had enormous peace of mind and confidence in the group we had,” he stated.
After the 2016 Copa America final loss to Chile, Messi briefly retired from the national team but subsequently changed his decision a few months later, a move that paid dividends in Qatar last year.
However, the 35-year-old superstar has already suggested that he would not be back for the 2026 World Cup, when he’ll be pushing 40.