More than six weeks after Lionel Messi captained Argentina to a third FIFA World Cup victory at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, the 35-year-old is still relishing the moments, and his thoughts are still not too far from the one-month adventure at the first tournament of its kind to be held on Arab soil.
"I miss my teammates and our camp in Qatar on a daily basis. We enjoyed every moment of our stay during the World Cup," the PSG forward told Argentine journalist Any Kusnetzoff of Urbana Play last week in his first sit-down since the tournament.
Messi, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, noted that finally winning the World Cup brought a happy ending to several years of heartaches of it being so near but yet so far.
"My family suffered as much or more from the unjust things that were said to me, which went beyond football. It bothered me and was painful. "Winning the Copa America and the World Cup was to close everything, it's all over," he said.
"On 18th December, everything changed for me. What I dreamed of and wished for throughout my career, has come true. Since that day, we can say that we are World Champions."
"After so much suffering with the national team, so many disappointments with losing finals, I was always so close but never reached, and I received so much criticism from all walks of life for a long time," he says.
"I know my family suffered from it, they always wanted to show me they were strong, but I knew inside they were suffering a lot."
"I had things in me that went beyond football, and that was what really bothered and hurt me."
"I think that both Diego and many people who love me from above were strong and encouraging," he said.
Speaking about his most difficult match of the tournament, Messi said, "I think the game against Mexico was the most difficult one for us because of everything that was at stake. Despite the result, I think it was also our worst game. It was a must-win game, and that makes you play differently. But I believed we were going to pull through, without this group, it would have been much harder."
On his approach to the final match, the Argentina captain said that he slept well and was relaxed throughout the night.
Image credit: Urbana Play
"The truth is that we followed what we had been doing during the World Cup. (Antonela and I) talked before going to sleep, and we did the routine we had been doing before the matches. The truth is that we were doing very well. I felt relaxed, I was very calm. I was able to sleep. "I was very calm."
On what he said before Montiel’s final penalty that gave them the win against France, he said, "I was asking God, who was with me throughout all of my career, and Cachete (Gonzalo Montiel) to end it so that it doesn't make us suffer anymore."
Messi added that he would have loved for the legendary Diego Maradona to have handed him the trophy in Qatar or at least witnessed the historical moment.
"I would have liked Diego to have seen Argentina as world champions, considering how much he desired it and how much he loved the national team. If Diego had been there, he would have given me the Cup. That photo would have been very nice. "I think he from above, as well as many other people that love me, gave me strength. ," he said
The Qatar 2022 Golden Ball winner said that he is still getting emotional to this day with the videos of their triumph as World Champions shared on social media.
"My Instagram was temporarily blocked due to the volume of messages I received after winning the World Cup...I had a million messages on Instagram, and they blocked me. Because of the large number of messages and the block, I was unable to respond to several stars, like Roger Federer and several other athletes. "In addition, I am not very active on social media sites."
Asked why he kissed the trophy after collecting his MVP award, Messi said, "I went up and saw her shining on this beautiful court as if she were saying to me, come catch me, and I didn't think of anything else."
Asked about the hug that he gave to the team's cook (mistaken by many to be his mother), Messi said, "The truth is that I have a very nice relationship with her, and with the people who always accompany us in this kind of competition, I've lived moments with her since I was eighteen. "We shared a lot of things, she was also happy and excited like we all are when we play on the field."
"The coaching staff is amazing. They are former players who went through everything we went through. They knew how to deal with each other at all times. They had the experience of being in the World Cup. "They knew what to say or do at all times."
On his celebration in front of Van Gaal and the anger against Weghorst, Messi said, "I went out at that time out of enthusiasm and without planning. Some players told me before the match, ‘Did you see what Van Gaal said?’ (laughs). And about the "Que Miras Bobo," I don’t like leaving that image of me, but it came out like this; it was "There is a lot of stress."
"I spoke with Riquelme after the match against Holland. We always send text messages after matches, and I talk to him not only during the World Cup but over the years. He had some problems with Van Gaal at Barcelona, and we talked a little bit about it.
Asked about his picture that broke the internet as the most liked photo in the history of the Internet, Messi said, "I wasn't looking for it to be the most liked picture, it just shows how much people wanted to see me with that trophy."
"I am the one who posts on my Instagram, and I don't have any company or manager doing that for me," he noted.
On the wild celebration and the team's reception back home in Argentina after the victory, he said, "We were very surprised by the celebrations when we arrived in the country at dawn, we went straight to Ezeiza to rest, and it was full of people; it was crazy, and the next day we started the march."
"The Argentine people conquered the Obelisk of Buenos Aires; it was impossible to get there to celebrate with them, so we returned by helicopters."
The next big event for La Albiceleste is the 2024 Copa América in the United States, and the likelihood of the ex-Barcelona star featuring is very high as the legend hasn't announced his international retirement yet.
Messi has made it clear that as his career comes to a close, he's only interested in living in the moment and taking things day by day. That's why he still hasn't made a decision on where he'll be playing next season, with his PSG contract set to expire on June 30.
