Argentina captain Lionel Messi will not retire from international football, saying he wants to continue playing as a world champion. Messi scored twice for Argentina in Sunday’s thrilling World Cup final victory over France, which ended 3-3 after extra time, before converting in the penalty shootout, which his team won 4-2 to claim football’s biggest prize. Despite his age, Messi wants to continue playing for his country after the World Cup, putting any speculation about his retirement to rest.
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Argentina World Cup Champions
I’m not going to retire,” he declared. “I want to keep playing as a World Cup winner.” “It’s the most beautiful thing,” Messi said to TyC Sports. “Look at it, it’s beautiful, and I really wanted it. God was going to give it to me, and I had a feeling it was this; we went through a lot, but we got it. Obviously, I wanted to end my career with this; I can’t ask for more. God bless him for giving me everything. It’s impressive to be closing out almost my entire career in this manner.
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What will come after this? I was able to obtain the Copa América, the World Cup… It occurred to me near the end. What I do, I love football. I enjoy being a member of the national team and the group, and I hope to continue living a few more games as a world champion. Argentina’s head coach, Lionel Scaloni, has told Messi that he can continue to play for Argentina for as long as he wants. Scaloni, Messi’s Argentina teammate, even suggested that Messi could play until the next World Cup in 2026 when he would be 39 years old.
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First of all, we need to save him a spot for the next World Cup in 2026 if he wants to keep playing. If he wants to keep playing, he’ll be with us,” Scaloni said, becoming only the third manager in history to win both the World Cup and the Copa America. He’s more than entitled to decide if he wants to keep playing for Argentina or not, and what he wants to do with his career. It gives us great pleasure to coach him and his teammates. Everything that he transmits to his teammates is something unparallel, that I’ve never seen before. A player, someone who goes above and beyond for his teammates.
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