The statements of Leo Messi and Angel Di Mariaputting in doubt his future in the Argentine National Team after the World Cup in Qatar, they tinged with a certain nostalgia the day after the victory of the Argentine National Team by 3-0 against Venezuela. “After the World Cup I am going to rethink many things, whether it went well or badly. Let’s hope it happens in the best way, but surely after the World Cup many things will change”, Messi said after the game and in the middle of the fireworks launched as a farewell to the team that last played in the country before the World Cup.
On his Instagram account and from the same Bombonera locker room, Di María admitted that against Venezuela on Friday night “Surely it was my last game with this shirt in Argentina“. In either case, the words are not surprising. Messi will turn 35 on June 25 and is getting ready to play the fifth World Cup of his careersomething that no Argentine player in history achieved. Di María turned 34 on February 14 and will go to his fourth World Cup.
It is logical then to assume that after Qatar both want to step aside and stop playing for the National Team. Messi has been doing it since 2005 when he won the Under 20 World Cup in Holland, the same title that Di María won in Canada two years later, and both shared the teams that won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and were at the 2010 World Cups in South Africa, Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018.
After many disappointments and three consecutive lost finals in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil against Germany and the 2015 and 2016 Copa Americas against Chile, last year’s continental consecration against Brazil in the definition of the Maracana redeemed them from so much suffering and put them both on the highest pedestal of the affection of the fans. Messi and Di María are, without a doubt, the most applauded players every time they touch the ball. Therefore, the goals of each one were shouted with joy. Because of that, the words of both of them resounded loudly.
“I’ve been happy here for a long time, since before winning the Copa América. It’s a wonderful group. People love me a lot and every day they show me more“, Messi said with visible emotion. “I am very grateful. It does me good every time I come to Argentina and after the Cup, much more,” he added. “Everything flows naturally and it’s easier on the field. Winning helps make everything nicer and easier. Today we finish this last day before going to the World Cup. I think it’s goodbye and a very good way. We did not expect less from these people, after the last moments that we have been going through. you have to enjoy it“, said the Rosario supercrack, record scorer of the National Team with 81 conquests in 159 games.
“I’m just going to say thank you for the enormous love received. I always dreamed of everything I experienced on this beautiful night,” said Di María through his social networks. “Surely it was my last game with this shirt in Argentina and to be able to say that it was a wonderful night is not enough”, added the Paris Saint Germain striker
The fact that both are evaluating stopping playing in the Argentine National Team does not imply that they are going to retire from soccer right now. Messi has one more year of his contract with PSG and some doubt that he will fulfill it after Real Madrid’s elimination from the knockout stages of the Champions League and, above all, the adverse reaction of the Parisian fans. , who whistled at him every time he came into play in the game he played against Bordeaux at the Parc des Princes.
According to some information coming from the United States, David Beckham, one of the owners of Inter Miami, would offer Messi a succulent contract to go play in the MLS from June 2023. Beckham’s idea would be to take advantage of the fact that the Rosario supercrack has strong economic interests in that city and transform it into the institutional image of the team that also includes Gonzalo Higuain, Messi’s partner in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 World Cups.
DiMaría’s bond with PSG expires in the middle of the year and according to some sources it would not be renewed, in which case he could return to Benfica, which would have the intention of repatriating him after his first spell between 2008 and 2010. Some leaders of Rosario Central plan to offer him to retire at the club, but Di María wants to continue playing at least two more seasons in Europe before thinking about returning to the club from which it came.