Lionel Messi fulfilled his lifelong dream when he won the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The triumph has been well documented by fans and experts, but a throwback video gave way to a new observation among the fans of the Argentine.
A video from the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-final was making the rounds on social media. Lionel Messi can be seen walking back to the dressing room at half-time against Croatia. In the video, the exhaustion was quite visible in Messi’s body language. The video opened the discussion about the difficulties through which Messi dragged Argentina to the World Cup at the age of 35.
— Messi out of Context (@OutMessi_) December 2, 2023
Fans were quick to point out that Argentina faced Croatia after a grueling 120 minutes against the Netherlands. Messi was the main player in the squad, the captain, and the main scoring threat. Unlike other members of the squad, he has been playing every single minute in the tournament up to that point while being one of the oldest in the squad.
This is a real captain.
— Abdullah (@AbduFootball) December 3, 2023
There were question marks about his fitness entering into the tournament, and those issues persisted as a few reports revealed that Messi played the World Cup with a hamstring issue throughout the tournament. There were a few occasions when the exhaustion and the incredible toll on Messi’s body were perfectly captured in the video but still, the Argentine captain pushed through each issue and performed in each knockout round.
The video drew some interesting comments from the fans, who finally realized in hindsight how Messi pushed through limits to win this World Cup. Comments like “Bro sold his body for the WC,” “This is a real captain” “He destroyed his legs for the WC, fairs,” and “This is the GOAT of all sports” echoed the sentiments of the fans.
Lionel Messi had hamstring issues before the World Cup final against France
The hamstring issue reached its peak for Lionel Messi just before the World Cup final. The Argentine hearts dropped when reports came out that Messi missed the training on December 15 for the final in Lusail Stadium on 18th December.
Foot Merceto reported Messi has been experiencing some discomfort in his hamstring, which was widely evident in the semi-final clash against Croatia. The off day helped with the issue as Messi played the final against France and scored a brace to lead the South American to World Cup glory.
✅ Messi has survived multiple career ending tackles
✅ He played the Copa America final with a foot injury
✅ He played the World Cup final with a hamstring problemHow Messi has managed to play for almost 20 years at the highest level is something nobody will ever understand pic.twitter.com/1clgoZIMrF
— The Football Arena (@thefootyarena) February 16, 2023
Messi later spoke to Diario Deportivo Ole and commented about his journey: “I feel very happy to be able to achieve this, to finish my World Cup journey by playing my last game in a final. It’s many years for the next one and I don’t think I’ll be able to do it. And to finish like this, it’s the best.”
Lionel Messi pushed through the pain to complete his legacy as one of the players of all time. His recent record-extending 8th Ballon d’Or proved to be the cherry on the cake as he slowly walks towards the end of this illustrious career.