‘I yelled at him and he just told…’: Paredes reveals Messi’s first words after Argentina’s World Cup glory in Qatar

Lionel Messi was at his brilliant best in Qatar last year, leading Argentina to FIFA World Cup 2022 glory. The CONMEBOL side defeated France in a thrilling final to win the trophy and their captain was adjudged as the best player of the tournament. Winning the Golden Ball award, Messi almost took home the Golden Boot too, but was denied by Kylian Mbappe.

Messi ended the tournament with seven goals and three assists in seven matches. He was one of the only three Argentine players to play in every single minute of their campaign, 690 in total after two matches went into extra time.

In the World Cup final, Argentina edged past France. The match ended as 2-2 in regular time, and then it was 3-3 in extra-time. In the penalty shootout, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez reigned supreme as his side sealed a 4-2 shootout win.

Argentina took the lead in the 23rd-minute when Messi converted a penalty after Angel Di Maria was fouled in the French box. Then a quick counter in the 36th-minute saw Alexis Mac Allister assist Di Maria, who made it 2-0 for Argentina. Mbappe came to his side’s rescue, levelling the match in 97 seconds. In the 80th-minute, he capitalised on a penalty to make it 1-2 after Kolo Muani was brought down in the Argentine box. Then in the 81st-minute, the PSG star made it 2-2 with a stunning volley.

In extra time, it looked like Messi found the winner for Argentina, tapping in after a deflection of Hugo Lloris, to make it 3-2 in the 108th-minute. But then Mbappe once again responded in the 118th-minute, converting another penalty to complete his hat-trick and also making it 3-3.

In the shootout, Martinez came out on top for Argentina with saves to deny Aurelian Tchouameni and Kingsley Coman. Gonzalo Montiel scored the winning penalty as Argentina won 4-2 in the shootout.

Speaking about Messi’s immediate reaction after the shootout victory, midfielder Leandro Paredes revealed his captain’s first words. Speaking to Sofi Martinez Mateos, he said, “That hug with Messi, I’ll keep with me for the rest of my life. Turning around, seeing him on his knees and being the first to hug him as a World Champion was incredible. I yelled at him ‘We are World champions’ and he just told us ‘Thank you, thank you, I love you'”.

During the World Cup, Messi made 347 passes, five tackles and attempted 32 shots. No other player attempted as many as 32 shots, with Mbappe second on the list with 31. Messi was also one of five players to register three assists in the competition.