Messi: "I've Fulfilled All My Dreams in Football"
Lionel Messi stated on Thursday that, after going through a difficult year in which he suffered several injuries that kept him off the pitch for months, he feels "physically well" and ready "to finish in the best way" the MLS season with Inter Miami, aiming for another title.
During the award ceremony for the Marca América Award, held in Miami and attended by his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, and Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas, Messi, 37, also referred to Barcelona as the team of his life.
In response to questions from Marca's sports newspaper director, Juan Ignacio Gallardo, after the award presentation, Messi stated that he has achieved all his dreams.
"Thanks to God, I was able to fulfill all my dreams. I achieved much more than I had dreamed of as a child. I managed to get the biggest dream of any player, which is to win a World Cup, which I believe is the trophy that we all want," he explained.
"When I started, I was fortunate to win many titles at the club of my life, which is Barcelona. Winning titles also at Paris (Saint-Germain), coming here, and winning titles. The truth is that I can't ask for more, but we are close to being able to achieve one more, and the goal is to try as always," he added.
Messi did not commit to participating in the World Cup to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada in 2026.
"Now I live day by day, I try to enjoy everything that happens to me at each moment, and when the time comes, we’ll see. I hope to continue performing at this level to feel good and be happy, because when I feel good and can enjoy what I do, I am happy," he declared.
"The truth is that I don't set the goal of reaching it; instead, I focus on living day by day and being well," he concluded.
Gallardo reminded him that, with the Marca América Award, he already has 103 collective and individual titles to his name, to which the Argentine star acknowledged that he did not know that was the figure.
"I love playing football; I enjoy being on the pitch. Recently, I was in Argentina and enjoyed a packed Monumental, happy to see the national team, chanting my name and that of my teammates, and that, for me, is the maximum. I have fought a lot and gone through many hardships in Argentina to reach this moment, and today I enjoy it more than ever," he commented.
At the award ceremony, presented by the Marca sports newspaper for being the footballer with the most titles in the history of the sport, Messi also received a painting by Barcelona artist José María Peña Gallardo and a sculpture by Argentine Carlos Benavídez.
Messi applauded the choice of the two artists from Catalonia and Argentina: "They represent my two homes, where we were happy and are happy with my family. Today we find ourselves in a place where we are also very happy, enjoying the city, the club, and the new people," he concluded.
