Lionel Messi on the World Cup: ‘It’s over, it’s complete – I’ve achieved everything’

Lionel Messi has done it all. Aside from the Coupe de la Ligue and the Coupe de France, Lionel Messi has won every competition he has competed in and of course, the one that matters most – the World Cup.

Messi has spoken publicly for the first time since his crowning moment, having returned to action with Paris Saint-Germain, after a few weeks celebrating the triumph back in Argentina.

Giving an interview to Andreas Kusnetzoff, MD carried his words, as Messi revealed what he said to his family after bringing home the most important trophy of them all.

“I told them (my family) that it was over after so much time, so much suffering because there were times when I suffered a lot with the national team. Many disappointments, always having been so close and never happening. I received criticism of from all sides for a long time and I know that my family suffered the same as me or more.”

“They always wanted to show me that they were fine, that they were strong. But I know that inside they were suffering a lot, not only because it didn’t happen, but because of the harsh things they said towards me, which went beyond football. That was what really bothered me and hurt me. It was like closing the circle. We won the Copa America, we won the World Cup, that’s it. There’s nothing left, it’s over.”

Messi dragged Argentina to the final in 2014, but they fell short at the final hurdle against Germany. For many years he was accused of ‘bottling’ it on the international stage, despite his impressive statistics.

Asked what it felt like when he won it, Messi barely had the words.

“It is difficult to explain what I felt at that moment. It’s a bit like before with my family and their gesture, many things cross your mind and at the same time nothing, like you’re gone. Enjoying that moment, not being able to believe that we finally made it.”

“I tell you that it is very difficult to explain what it feels like at that moment, but it is a bit of that – that’s it, it’s over, it’s happened for me, I achieved everything with the national team, I achieved everything in my career, at Barcelona, individually, closing my career in a unique way. When I started with all this I never imagined it would be this way. Getting to that moment was the maximum.”

Having ‘completed the game’ in they eyes of many, how exactly he motivates himself will be an intriguing watch. While Messi has set a standard for excellence for a decade-and-a-half, it was seen last season how the upheaval of his Barcelona departure affected him. In a different way, there is bound to be a comedown from his triumph too.