Lionel Messi earned his maiden FIFA World Cup trophy having defeated France in the final in December last year. The Qatar World Cup triumph was special in many ways and the victorious Argentine footballers were honoured by their respective clubs. But Messi has now revealed that he was not recognised by his former side Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for his 2022 FIFA World Cup victory. Messi, who was a PSG member during last year’s World Cup, stated that he was the only player who never got recognition for the remarkable win in Qatar.
“I was the only player of the 25 that didn’t get a [club] recognition. It was understandable … because of us [Argentina], they [France] didn’t retain the World Cup,” Messi said during an interview to ESPN.
Following his illustrious spell with his childhood club Barcelona, Lionel Messi joined PSG as a free agent in 2021. Messi’s stay at PSG came to an end earlier this year after his contract with the club expired. Asked if he would have liked not to have arrived in Paris, Messi said, “It happened like that. It was not what I expected, but I always say things happen for a reason. Even if I wasn’t well there, it happened that I was world champion while I was there.”
After a two-year spell at PSG, Messi decided to move to Major League Soccer (MLS) side Inter Miami during the summer transfer window. Messi’s move to the United States has so far proved to be quite fruitful. He has so far scored 11 goals in as many appearances for Inter Miami across all competitions. Moreover, the 36-year-old played a key role in guiding Inter Miami to their maiden Leagues Cup triumph last month.
“I love what I do, I enjoy playing, and now it’s a different way. That is why I made the decision to come to Miami and not continue my career elsewhere: you experience it a different way,” Messi said. Messi’s current contract with the Herons is set to expire two years later in December but he does not want to think about retirement now.
“I haven’t thought about it [retiring], I don’t want to think about it because I want to continue to enjoy what I do. I took an important step by leaving Europe and coming here, and I don’t want to think about the next step,” the former Barcelona player said.
In his last competitive action, Messi had to be taken off the field during an MLS clash against Toronto FC due to injury issues. There is no update yet on Messi’s fitness and Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino will be hoping the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will be able to make a comeback for next week’s US Open Cup final against Houston Dynamo FC.
