‘Nothing left’ to achieve: Lionel Messi looks absent on field amid retirement speculations
1 min read . Updated: 02 Feb 2023, 05:55 AM IST
Premium‘I achieved everything with the national team I always dreamed of,’ Lionel Messi earlier said.
Argentina's victory in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar solidified Lionel Messi's status as one of the all-time great players. Having won numerous Ballon d'Or awards, league and UEFA Champions League titles. Messi said that winning the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar had given him the most significant trophy of his illustrious career and that he couldn't have asked for anything better.
After winning the Copa America 2021 and the FIFA World Cup 2022, Messi believes “there’s nothing left" for him to achieve. As a result, he seems uninspired at times while playing for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)
"I got everything in my career, individually," GOAL.com quoted Messi speaking to UrbanaPlay. "It was about closing my career in a unique way. I never imagined that all this was going to happen to me when I started, and getting to this moment was the best."
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Messi said in the interview with UrbanaPlay. "It's at the end of my career, closing a cycle. I achieved everything with the national team I always dreamed of. I got everything in my career, individually. It was about closing my career in a unique way. I never imagined that all this was going to happen to me when I started, and getting to this moment was the best. I have no complaints and I can't ask for more."
Messi’s comment comes as his performance for PSG is under scanner since his return from world cup glory. Since his comeback to competitive play, Messi has only produced two chances from open play and one shot on target. He has been unusually loose with the ball and has a lower pass completion rate.
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It is alarming for the French champions that his performances since rejoining his club have not been at the same level as in Qatar. The Argentine legend has been uninvolved since getting back from the world cup, just showing up sometimes to a few football games.
Messi received three weeks off after Argentina's world cup victory, which he used to travel and unwind while rightfully celebrating his greatest professional accomplishment.
"I’m not worried, but we need a wake-up call," PSG manager Christophe Galtier said. "The World Cup is over."
