Lionel Messi took to his Instagram page to talk about what it feels like to return to his country again as a World Champion.
Argentina played a friendly with Panama on Friday, 24th March 2023 which Argentina won 2-0, thanks to goals from Messi and Almada.
The images he uploaded include that of himself and his teammates, his family, and when he was in action against Panama.
He captioned the images with a heartfelt message, expressing his gratitude for the team and what they achieved.
He said: “Many times I imagined what it could be to return to my country as a world champion but now I have no words to explain what I feel, how grateful I am to all the people for the love…”
“These are very very special days and I can only tell you that I have immense happiness to see all the Argentinian people enjoying and celebrating what was another success of all. THANK YOU!!! 🇦🇷🏆🙌🏻”
Argentina defeated Panama 2-0 in their first game following the World Cup, with Lionel Messi scoring his 800th goal at the highest level.
After Cristiano Ronaldo, the 35-year-old forward for Paris St. Germain became the second player to accomplish the feat.
Throughout the course of 17 seasons, Messi scored 672 goals for Barcelona and 29 for PSG.
Moreover, he has scored 99 goals for his country, including two in the World Cup final.
At the Monumental de Nunez Stadium in Buenos Aires, the Argentina captain added a free kick in the 89th minute to Thiago Almada’s opening goal from 11 minutes earlier.
Messi will have the chance to score his 100th goal for Argentina when they take on Curacao on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi
The captain of the Argentina national team and a striker for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, Lionel Andrés Messi was born in Argentina on June 24, 1987.
Messi, who is recognized as one of the best players of all time, has won a record seven Ballon d’Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and was selected for the Ballon d’Or Dream Team in 2020.
He spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, retiring from the team in 2021 after winning a club-record 34 trophies there, including 10 La Liga championships, seven Copa del Rey championships, and four UEFA Champions Leagues.
He won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup for his nation.
Winning The World Cup For Argentina
Messi made his record-tying 26th appearance at a World Cup final on December 18 at Lusail Stadium during the 2022 FIFA World Cup championship game.
With his penalty kick for Argentina’s first goal, Messi became the first player since the introduction of the World Cup’s last-16 round in 1986 to score a goal in each round.
When Kylian Mbappé of France scored twice in the first two minutes to erase Argentina’s eventual two-goal advantage, Messi scored once more in extra time to restore Argentina’s lead before Mbappé pulled France equal once more.
The match went to a penalty shootout because it ended 3-3 after extra time. Argentina won the shootout 4-2, ending the country’s 36-year trophy drought after Messi scored the first goal for his team.
As the winner of the Golden Ball for player of the competition, Messi made history by winning it twice. With seven goals in seven games, he finished one goal behind Mbappé for second place in the Golden Boot race.