Lionel Messi received the World Cup as a result of the glowing stable gold trophy picked him to elevate it, the Argentine star mentioned in a radio interview aired on Monday. The 35-year-old impressed his nation to World Cup glory final month by scoring two objectives and a penalty within the South Americans’ shoot-out overcome earlier holders France following an exhilarating 3-3 attract Qatar. “The cup called out to me, it told me: come and grab me, now you can touch me,” Messi advised the Argentine Urbana Play radio station.

“I saw it sparkling in that beautiful stadium and I didn’t hesitate” to kiss it, he added, referring to the beautiful Lusail Stadium in Doha, the place the ultimate was performed.

Messi lastly lifted the trophy in his fifth and last World Cup event, having misplaced within the 2014 last to Germany.

He additionally performed in three dropping Copa America finals earlier than lastly clinching that trophy in 2021.

“After so much suffering and lost finals, God kept it for me,” mentioned Messi of the World Cup.

He thus grew to become the primary Argentina captain since Diego Maradona in 1986 to elevate the World Cup.

“I would have liked Maradona to hand me the cup, so he could at least see Argentina champions.”

Maradona died of a coronary heart assault two years in the past.

“From up above he gave me strength, as did so many people who love me.”

Many individuals anticipated Messi to retire, no less than from worldwide obligation, after the Qatar triumph however he determined to proceed so he might take to the sector together with his teammates as world champions.

However, he admitted that the top was shut after a glory-laden profession that noticed him additionally win 4 Champions League titles and 10 La Liga crowns with Barcelona, and a Ligue 1 trophy with Paris Saint-Germain, in addition to the Ballon d’Or a file seven occasions.

“That’s it, there’s nothing left, I’ve achieved everything with the national team, with Barcelona, individually,” he mentioned.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)

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