Lionel Messi is now a World Cup winner. After many years of trying, a man with a record-setting haul of seven Ballons d’Ors finally got his hands on the most prestigious of collective prizes at Qatar 2022
With a standing among the greatest of all time now safely secured, and it easy to argue a case for him occupying top spot there, what is left for the mercurial Argentina international to achieve? He has won just about everything it is possible to win – many times over in the case of certain trophies.
Ambition
Personal ambition continues to burn brightly, though, and Messi will want to add more honours to his collection before calling it a day. He will certainly want to emulate his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo by becoming a five-time winner of the Champions League.
Moving to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 was supposed to aid that quest, but European glory has proved elusive in France. Plenty continue to back that particular cause, with punters from Paris to Pretoria aware of the match-altering ability that PSG possess within their ranks.
For that reason Messi and Co will forever figure prominently in international betting markets, with it almost impossible to back against any side that boasts such talent, and observers from South Africa are just as likely as those in South America to pin colours to PSG's mast as tales of Neymar and Sergio Ramos spread to every corner of the planet.
There is enough star power at Parc des Princes right now to grace a blockbuster movie and, quite fittingly, a
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Recent trends are, however, going to need to be bucked if an iconic figure is to savour another triumph on the grandest of club stages and further bolster his enviable medal
collection. Messi has previously said of
trying to conquer Europe again with PSG: “It's everyone's dream. The club have been working towards this goal for years and lately,
they have come close. From a personal point of view, I would love to win the Champions League again, as I said when I was still at Barcelona.”
Messi’s last success came while still on the books at Camp Nou, and some eight years have passed since then. Back in 2014-15, Luis Enrique oversaw a 3-1 victory for Barca over Juventus at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
A year later and the Blaugrana suffered a quarter-final defeat to La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid. Juve then dashed Barcelona’s dreams in the last 16 the following season, before suffering a painful away goals defeat to Roma in 2017-18.
Fightback
The next campaign delivered more of the same, with
Liverpool staging a stunning fightback from three goals down to beat Barca in the semi-finals. Bayern Munich crushed Messi and co 8-2 in 2020, while the South American’s last season in Catalunya saw him undone by PSG in the first knockout round. After moving to the French capital, another last-16 exit was endured – this time at the hands of former Clasico rivals Real Madrid.
It is remarkable to think that Messi, given all that he has achieved, has gone the best part of a decade without capturing a Champions League crown. He has, however, started to write his own fairytale scripts again and few would bet against him emulating the efforts of Ronaldo in 2023 – lining up an eighth Golden Ball in the process.