Argentina star Lionel Messi has recalled moments before he lifted the trophy aloft his head in the final at the FIFA World cup.
The Albiceleste defeated France on penalties in the final and Messi who put up starring role has chronicled the occasion before finally getting his hands on the crown.
“I saw it there and I couldn’t do what I did,” Messi declared. “The World Cup was calling me. It said to me ‘Here I am, come and grab me, now you can touch me’. “I saw it shining there, it stood out in that beautiful stadium and I didn’t think about it, I went to kiss it because I passed by it. I needed it.” he recounted happily.
Despite Argentina’s triumph, it wasn’t all smooth for the South American nation and this was best captured in the quarter final match against the Netherlands. In a very tensed game Messi had an argument with the oranje manager Louis Van Gaal and also pour out his frustration on Dutch striker Wout Weghorst, even after Argentina’s victory.
“Keep moving, idiot,” Messi told the Dutchman in the tunnel.
However, the PSG star has admitted that he is not happy with what happened with the current Manchester United Forward.
However, the Paris Saint-Germain star has admitted that he was not pleased with what transpired with the current Manchester United striker.
“I didn’t think about it, it came out in the moment,” Messi said of the incident with Weghorst in an interview with radio show Perros de la calle. “I didn’t know everything that had been said before the game, what he [Van Gaal] had said. Even some of my teammates were telling me ‘Did you see what he said,’ on purpose.
“And well, when it’s all over, I don’t like what I did, I don’t like the ‘keep moving’ and all that. But well, they are moments of huge tension, huge nervousness and everything happens very fast. “One reacts the way one reacts, but nothing was planned. It just happened. I don’t like to leave that image, but these are things that happen.”
The Argentine admitted that he has not re-watched the final again and that the night prior to the game he slept well and did nothing distinct.
“I saw highlights, moments, people’s celebrations when we are world champions, but the final itself, the 90 minutes, I haven’t watched it again,” he said.
He also remembered Diego Maradona and underlined that he wished the late Argentina legend was around to watch the final.
“I would have liked him, if he didn’t hand me the World Cup trophy, to at least see all this,” Messi commented. “I think that both he and many people who love me were pushing from above, not only for this but for everything in general”.
The former Barcelona forward also talked about how his children and wife encountered Argentina’s World Cup run.
“It was an incredible month for me and my family,” Messi recalled.
“Thiago was crazy. Seeing how he enjoyed it, how he felt it, how he suffered… because after the match with the Netherlands he was crying. Or Mateo doing the maths after the match we lost against Saudi Arabia. Ciro is the one who understands the least, but the other two experienced it as fans.
“Suffering, living it to the fullest, enjoying it. Even when we returned to Paris, we missed the days in Qatar. We had a great time.”
Meanwhile, Messi revealed that his Instagram account was blocked after receiving one million messages after Argentina’s triumph.
