Lionel Messi has confirmed that Sunday’s World Cup final will be his last ever match at the tournament.
The Argentine superstar will look to go out on a bang and cement his legacy by lifting football’s most prestigious trophy, at what is his final chance to add the competition to his illustrious CV.
Messi produced a performance in the semi-final which didn’t look like a man that was about to bow out of international football, as he put in arguably the performance of the entire competition to help his country reach the final in a 3-0 victory.
The 35-year-old said after the game that playing in a final is the best way to go out and that he doesn’t think he could go again when the next World Cup rolls around in 2026.
‘Everything I experienced in this World Cup is something very exciting , what people lived through, how people are enjoying it in Argentina.’
When asked if it was his last World Cup, he added: ‘Surely yes. There are many years for the next one and I don’t think I will be able to do that and ending this way is the best.
‘The important thing is to be able to achieve the group objective, which is the most beautiful of all.
‘We are one step away after fighting a lot and we are going to try to give our best as up to now, to try to make it happen this time.’
Messi rolled back the years in a stunning performance against Croatia on Tuesday night.
Credit: dailymail.co.uk
