2023-11-05 01:10:00
After winning his eighth Ballon d’Or, Lionel Messi still doesn’t know how long he intends to play football. At 36 years old, Messi assured that he still feels good and that he only intends to stop when he cannot perform as much as he expects.
“I feel good. I always said I wasn’t thinking about the future, I’m moving forward day by day. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to play. I want to continue until I feel like I can’t anymore, as my physical condition no longer allows me to play as I would like”, Messi said to the newspaper “L’Équipe”.
Despite not talking about retirement, one thing is certain: the doors to European football are closed to Messi.
“Is European football closed to me? Yes. No loans are planned. Thank God I had an extraordinary career in Europe and won everything I dreamed of. Now that I have decided to play in the United States, I don’t think I will return. Of course I will feel For the rest of my life, I’m missing a Champions League or La Liga game, games with a special flavor. But I made the most of it, so I don’t feel any frustration.”
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had years of ‘rivalry’ during their time at Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively. In the Argentine’s view, the dispute was good at a sporting level and both deserve credit for having remained at the top for a long time.
“It was a very good battle on a sporting level. We fed off each other’s rivalry, because we are both great competitors. He also wanted to win everything, always […] I think we deserve a lot of credit for being able to stay on top for so long. It’s extremely difficult to stay.”
The rivalry diminished over the years. Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid and spent time at Juventus and Manchester United before moving to Al-Nassr, in Saudi Arabia. Messi, in turn, played for PSG and is now at Inter Miami after leaving Barcelona.
The duo had the opportunity to experience new rivalries. This is because Messi could have played for Manchester City and Al-Hilal, rivals of Manchester United and Al-Nassr, respectively, but he followed different paths.
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