Lionel Messi last night held out the prospect of playing on for Argentina, having finally lifted football’s greatest prize after a World Cup final for the ages.
Having ended his country’s 36-year wait for the World Cup and been dressed in a ceremonial Qatari ‘Bisht’ robe by the Emir of Qatar, the 35-year-old player of this tournament said he wanted to ‘keep playing in the Argentina jersey as world champions.’
An emotional Lionel Scaloni, Argentina’s coach, also held out the hope last night that Messi would be in the side for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. The 44-year-old also paid tribute to Messi for having encouraged him to have faith, during a late-night heart-to-heart phone call after the nation had struggled in a qualification game against Brazil, a year ago.
Scaloni said: ‘We need to save him for the next World Cup – 2026. If he wants to keep playing, he will be with us. He is more than entitled to decide what he wants to do with his career now.’
Messi had told Scaloni in the phone call: ‘It will be ok. We will move on. We have to try at least.’ Scaloni said of their talk: ‘With his answer, I did realize we were doing things right. That gave me so much energy, it was an emotional boost.’
Messi failed to show up at a press conference as the game’s man of the match. But the emotion was written across the No 10’s face after Argentina’s penalty shoot-out win when his mother Celia Cuccittini approached him and they embraced on the pitch.
