Messi: 'I'm lucky to win all the titles'
"Winning the World Cup is the dream of every player," Messi said after winning the gold cup with Argentina on the evening of December 18. "I'm lucky to have won everything, because the World Cup is here."
Messi has won 39 titles in his career in every tournament he has participated in, notably La Liga, Ligue 1, Champions League, Copa America and now the World Cup. That is not to mention the U20 World Championship in 2005 and the Olympic gold medal in men's football in 2008.
The Argentine captain also said that he knew in advance that God would give him this championship. "I knew Argentina would win this way," he added. "The match was crazy, but it was even better for Argentina. What else is there to say about this game? Football is really crazy. I want to dedicate this championship to the Argentinians."
Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot and ignited Angel di Maria's 2-0 goal in the 2022 World Cup final. France didn't finish a single shot in the first 60 minutes, but Kylian Mbappe shone with a strike. double to equalize 2-2 and send the game into extra time. Messi once again put Argentina ahead, but Mbappe equalized 3-3 in extra time. In the end, Argentina won 4-2 on penalties, to dethrone France. FIFA's Twitter account commented it was "the best final in history".
Messi also ruled out the possibility that he would retire from international football after this tournament. "Of course I want to end my career this way because there's nothing better than winning the World Cup," he said. "But I still want to play more games as world champion."
Argentina's next major tournament is the 2024 Summer Copa America, but they could be invited to the 2023 Summer Gold Cup. Lionel Scaloni's men are expected to play their next match in March 2022, a friendly against an unknown opponent. .
Messi finished five World Cups with 25 games, 13 goals and eight assists. He is the only person to receive the World Cup Golden Ball award for the best male player twice, in 2014 and 2022.
