Lionel Messi announces his retirement, says FIFA World Cup final will be his last game

Star footballer Lionel Messi has announced that the 2022 FIFA World Cup final will be his last game for Argentina.   

"I feel very happy to be able to achieve this, to finish my World Cup journey by playing my last game in a final," Messi reportedly told Argentine media outlet Diario Deportivo Ole.

He further added in his statement, "I don't think I will be able to take it any further, and thus, this is the best time to end it." 

Now with this development, it is clear that on December 18, Messi will play his last match for Argentina and then retire.

Notably, Messi helped Argentina to defeat Croatia 3-0 in the semifinal on December 13 by playing a key role.

Messi broke also many several records after scoring a goal in this match and with this, he became the highest goal scorer for Argentina. 

He has broken the record of Gabriel Batistuta and he equaled the number of matches with Lothar Matthäus in terms of playing most FIFA World Cup matches. 

In the match, in the 34th minute, Argentina's opened its account followed by Messi's goal as he converted the penalty into a goal.

Later, Argentina got another penalty over the foul of Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livaković and again Messi was seen in action as he scored his 5th goal in the FIFA World Cup 2022. 

Even after scoring two goals in the first half itself, the Argentine team did not give up. In the 69th minute, Lionel Messi once again spread his magic and reached the penalty area with the ball while dodging the Croatian players. However, there were two Croatian defenders and after this, Messi passed the ball towards Alvarez who easily put it in the post to give his team a 3-0 lead.

Also read: Former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff injured after car crash during BBC show: Reports