Messi hails 2022 as ‘year my dream came true’

Argentina’s forward #10 Lionel Messi lifts the World Cup trophy during the Qatar 2022 World Cup trophy ceremony after the football final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha on December 18, 2022. Argentina won in the penalty shoot-out. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

Lionel Messi signed off for 2022 by hailing the year when he won the World Cup as one he “will never be able to forget”. The Argentine captain is due back at Paris Saint-Germain at the start of the coming week after being granted extended leave following his Qatar 2022 heroics.

His seven goals and three assists on Argentina’s route to glory earned Messi the Golden Ball award, and at the age of 35, he finally got to lift the World Cup trophy, his career’s crowning moment.

Messi posted to Instagram a series of pictures of himself with wife, Antonela, and their young family, marking the end of a transformative 12 months.

He wrote: “A year ends that I will never be able to forget. The dream that I always pursued finally came true. “But that wouldn’t be worth anything either if it weren’t for the fact that I get to share it with a wonderful family, the best one can have, and some friends who always support me and didn’t let me stay on the floor every time I fell.”

Messi’s magical moment will not have been met with great reverence in Paris, given it was France that Argentina beat on penalties in the final after a remarkable 3-3 draw.

Addressing supporters, Messi made a point of thanking those from Barcelona as well as Paris.

He scored a staggering 672 goals during a Barcelona career that ended with a shock move to PSG in August 2021.

“I also want to have a very special memory for all the people who follow me and support me,” Messi