With the Qatar World Cup approaching in the next few months, it is extremely important that the 35-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi is a part of the World Cup. Messi has already announced that this World Cup in Qatar will be his last one of the year, but is dealing with a few injuries that could potentially force him to miss action as he missed PSG’s previous two games as of this writing. However, no matter what his injuries are, Lionel Messi needs to be on the Argentina roster once the tournament officially kicks off.
Even with the international competition beginning, it is important to be focusing on the Champions League predictions heading into the World Cup before they suspend play for a little bit. Let’s discuss why he owes it to the World Cup, the fans, and most of all himself.
Walking Off on Top
Lionel Messi is one of the most popular and best soccer players to ever set foot on the pitch and has feared that he will have to miss this World Cup due to injury as he suffered a calf strain and has already seen two of his teammates get injured.
When speaking to the media, Messi said, “This is a different World Cup which is played at a different time of the year to previous tournaments, and it’s so imminent any little thing that happens to you can force you out. With what happened to [Paulo] Dybala and [Angel] Di Maria, the truth is that personally, you worry, and you’re more afraid when you see those sort of things.”
While those injuries can really impact your Champions League predictions today, it does not matter, as you always risk injury when you are playing. I understand Messi is dealing with injury and is obviously in the twilight of his career, but his legendary status of him alone should be able to play a bit.
Juventus winger Di Maria is currently out for three weeks with a hamstring injury, while Roma manager Jose Mourino said Dybala has suffered a bad muscle injury that could keep him out for the remainder of 2022.
World Cup fans deserve to see Lionel Messi compete with the Argentina National Team in the World Cup, as this is probably the final time that we have the opportunity to see him in the international tournament scale. Whether he is nursing an injury and is able to appear in just a few minutes as more of a ceremonial appearance than anything, we deserve to see this as a sendoff.
With the season just kicking off, PSG has led the way in Group H and has been getting you some money if you are choosing them as your Champions League picks. Now, if Messi continues to rehabilitate from his nagging injuries, they will be even better going forward with his skills and veteran leadership. Whether he is more of a player/coach role for this World Cup than anything, having him with the Argentina National Team will be a huge boost to the team as a whole.
Conclusion
Let the World Cup crowd in Qatar give one of the most talented players in the entire history of soccer, and having all the eyes that the world can give as a sendoff will be a great thing for sports fans. This is not knowing the severity of his calf injury, but if he is healthy enough to play a good half of games and then subbing him out can do a lot of wonders.
I understand it is a different sport, and this is not the final game of his entire career, but let the crowd give Lionel Messi his flowers, similar to what guys like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera were able to do, ending their careers with a good feeling and having the crowd applaud and thank them for everything they have done throughout their entire career.