Andres Iniesta has now explained why his former teammate Lionel Messi‘s 2022 FIFA World Cup triumph with Argentina won’t settle the so-called ‘GOAT’ debate.
Lionel Messi is the greatest of all time, according to the former Spain international. However, many others have different opinions. Some prefer Cristiano Ronaldo, others prefer Pele or Diego Maradona.
Hence, Iniesta believes people who don’t feel Messi is the greatest of all time will find reasons not to believe it despite Argentina winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The 2010 World Cup winner said (via ESPN):
“For me, Messi is the best with or without [winning] a World Cup, I think the fact he has won a World Cup, more than what other people [think], is a huge source of happiness for himself. Not just for him, but for Argentina as a country. They are always in the running and the fact they’ve won it in the way they did makes it totally deserved.”
The former Barcelona star further added about Lionel Messi:
“I am sure anyone who doesn’t view Messi as the best will find an excuse to keep seeing it that way, regardless of whether he won the World Cup or not.”
Spain, meanwhile, were eliminated from the Round of 16 of the tournament after a loss to Morocco. The legendary midfielder shared his opinion on what La Roja needs to change. He said:
“I think the model has to stay the same, At the end of the day, a model of play is good if you’re able to give 100%. The game against Morocco was not lost because of the model or not, but because other things were lacking to win the game.”
Andres Iniesta spoke about the FIFA World Cup final showdown between France and Argentina
The 2022 FIFA World Cup final between France and Argentina was one of the best games in recent memory. The game ended 3-3 after extra time. Lionel Messi scored a brace, and Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick.
Speaking about the pulsating clash, Iniesta said:
“I think it was the best ever final, in terms of goals, emotions, everything that happened in the game, the twists, It was clearly an amazing game for the fans and was worthy of a World Cup final.”