Manchester United center-back has rejected the decision of Lionel Messi to retire from the national team after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Lionel Messi had earlier hinted on his plan to retire from international football after the 2022 World.
The seven times Ballon d’Or winner said 2022 World Cup will be his last World Cup which signals that his time with the Argentina’s national team is numbered.
Messi first appeared for the Argentina national team at the World Cup in 2006 edition of the tournament.
Since then, he has been a regular in the World’s most coveted football tournament.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which kicks off in November 20 in Qatar will be his fifth appearance in the tournament.
Based on the current statistic, Lionel Messi was projected to hit his 1000th career game if Argentina makes it to the final of the 2022 World Cup.
The World Cup trophy is the last of all major trophies that has eluded the football genius. Winning it in his 1000th game will be a legendary and epic feat for the 35-year-old.
However, despite his earlier planned retirement from national team duty after the World Cup, Messi seemed to have reverse his statement in an interview with Argentina media outfit.
Notwithstanding, his stand was still uncertain, as he said the decision to retire will rather depend on his fitness given the logical issues of age.
Meanwhile, Premier League and Manchester United center-back Lisandro Martinez has kicked against Messi’s plan to retire.
Speaking with ESPN Argentina, Lisandro Martinez said;
“How will this be Lionel Messi’s last World Cup? No no, he’s crazy. We are not going to let him leave. We are going into war for him.”
Argentina is in Group C alongside Mexico, Poland and Saudi Arabia.
They will open their World Cup campaign on 22 November against Saudi Arabia, before taking on Mexico and Poland.
Who is Lisandro Martinez?
Lisandro Martinez, born 18 January 1998 in Gualeguay, Argentina is a a professional football player, who plays as a center-back for Manchester United and Argentina national team.
Martinez started his youth career with Club Urquiza in 2002. He also played for Club Libertad (2006 to 2014), and Newell’s Old Boys (2014 to 2017).
After three years with the Newell’s Old Boys, where he ended his 15-year running youth career, Lisandro Martinez made his first senior appearance for the Newell’s Old Boys in 2017.
He made only one appearance and was loaned to Defense y Justicia, where he made 21 appearances scoring one goal.
Defenssa y Justicia then made his loan move permanent in 2018.
He went ahead to make 25 appearances, scoring 2 goals in his additional one-year spell with the club.
In 2019, Lisandro Martinez join Ajax for €7m, penning a four-year contract with the Dutch giants.
In his three years spell with the club, Lisandro Martinez made 74 appearances for the club, scoring 6 goals.
On 27 July, 2022, Lisandro Martinez joined Premier League club Manchester United for £49million, signing a five-year contract.
He made his debut for the club on 7 August, 2022 in a Premier League opening game against Brighton – a game which the Red Devils lost 2-1.
After a combined appearance of 5 for the Argentina U20 and U23, Lisandro Martinez made his first senior national team debut in 2019. He has been capped 9 times so far.
Martinez has won Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, and the Johan Cruyff Shield with Ajax.
He has also won the Copa America and the CONMEBOL -UEFA Cup of Champions with the Argentina national team.
In the 2021/22 football season, he was named the Ajax Player of the Season.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andreas Messi, born on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina is a professional football player, who plays for French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-German and Argentina national team.
Lionel Messi is one of the greatest and most decorated football stars the world has ever known.
He is a record Ballon d’Or winner, having clinched the award seven times, the most ever won by a player.
Before he proceeded to the Barcelona youth team in 2003, where he began his rise to stardom, Messi started his youth career at Grandoli between 1992 and 1995 before moving to Newell’s Old Boys in 1995.
Messi made his first senior team appearance for Barcelona B in 2003, making 10 appearances and scoring 5 goals.
In 2004, he joined Barcelona C, making 22 appreances and scoring 6 goals.
Messi made his first Barcelona main team appearance in 2004.
He spent 17 years with the La Liga giants, scoring 474 goals in his 520 appearances for the club.
Lionel Messi joined PSG in 2021 as a free agent, signing a two-year contract after the Catalans admitted they could not foot his wage bills due to a financial quagmire that engulfed the team.
Messi has made 31 appearances for PSG and has scored 12 goals so far.
He was called to the Argentina senior men’s national team for the first time in 2005 and has made 164 appearances and have scored 90 goals.
He has made 164 appearances and have scored 90 goals.
Messi has won the La Liga, Supercopa des Espana, Copa Del Rey, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup with Barcelona.
He has won the French Ligue 1 and Trophee des Champions with PSG.
He has also won the 2005 FIFA U20 World Cup, 2008 Summer Olympics with the Argentina U23, and the Copa America with the Argentina national team.
Messi is one of the most decorated footballers in the world with several individual awards.
