‘They wanted Argentina to win the World Cup because of me’ — Messi opens up on pivotal support during Qatar 2022

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has opened up about the love he felt from numerous countries during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which he eventually won with Argentina.

Messi led Argentina to World Cup success in Qatar for the first time since 1986, and the 2023 Ballon d’Or winner has expressed his gratitude to fans from other countries who shunned their own countries to support the Albiceleste.

Being a popular figure due to his time with Barcelona, Messi received a lot of support from fans all over the world and even noted that he was shocked by some of the support he got.

Messi spoke briefly with Marcelo Bechler from TNTSports Brazil at the Ballon d’Or ceremony and revealed what it was like to see people from Argentina’s fierce rivals, Brazil, support his team in Qatar.

Messi was asked if he knew that Brazilians were supporting Argentina to lift the World Cup after the Selecao were eliminated in the quarterfinals, and he replied, “Yes, I saw that, and it was amazing. I knew there were people in Brazil who held a lot of affection for me, but supporting Argentina to become world champions was something I did not expect.”

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner further stated that there were people spread all over the world cheering for Argentina, saying, “As I said before, many countries in South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and people from various nations wanted Argentina to become the world champion because of me and because they know what this title meant to me.

The former Barcelona forward expressed his gratitude for the support, saying, Therefore, I am grateful for all the affection that was reaching me, as well as the entire Argentine National Team.

“We sensed the wish of all these people for us to become world champions. I am also grateful to the Brazilians for the tremendous affection they showed us.”

Messi’s World Cup triumph in Qatar was the main catalyst behind him winning the 2023 Ballon d’Or, beating Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and his former teammate Kylian Mappe to the prize