Lionel Messi is looking to cap one of football’s most remarkable careers by captaining Argentina to a third World Cup triumph in Qatar.
Lionel Messi is unsure how much longer he will continue playing, but is enjoying his football following a tough period of adaptation at Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi had a torrid first season after swapping Barcelona for PSG last August, scoring 11 goals in 34 games – his lowest scoring campaign since 2005-06 when he was 18.
However, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has looked rejuvenated this season, already hitting the net 12 times and providing 14 assists.
PSG team-mate Neymar and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland are the only players in Europe’s top five leagues to match his tally of 26 goals this term.
However, speaking to Movistar ahead of Argentina’s World Cup campaign, the 35-year-old hinted that the end of his playing career may not be too far away, although he expects to remain in football when he retires.
“I love playing and I enjoy it, the only thing I’ve done all my life is play football and I’m sure it [future role] will be related, although I don’t know what,” Messi said.
“I don’t think I will play much more. I don’t know, there are so many things going on. It was a dream I always had as a kid, to be able to play for Argentina.
“But today it depends on many things. I have my family, three children, I just went through a very big change in my life, which cost me and my whole family a lot. Today I got out of it and we feel amazing.”
Asked if he felt better on the pitch after a year at the Parc des Princes, Messi said: “It’s true, I’m enjoying it a lot more, I’m getting to know the city and I think it’s beautiful.
“The first year was a huge change for me, everything went wrong because it all came out of the blue and it wasn’t a decision I was heading towards, leaving Barcelona was sudden.
“After this long process and difficult moments, today I am happy to live where I live and me and my family are enjoying Paris.”
Remembering his first season in Ligue 1, Messi said: “It was difficult, we were in the same place all our lives. I had never moved and I didn’t know how it would be, moreover it was not a decision we made.” .
“It came suddenly. We had to leave Barcelona overnight and found ourselves where everything was new.
“We lived in Barcelona with friends, places and people and you have to get to know other places, with a different language, different football, different weather.
“I suffered a lot, it was difficult. But today I enjoy everything, including football.”
