Between the club season and the World Cup, many national teams only have a few days to rest and prepare. But Lionel Messi is apparently giving himself more time, which he can get thanks to a special clause in his contract with Paris St. Germain.
Argentina and Lionel Messi have a good chance of winning the World Cup, with the South American team going into the tournament in Qatar as one of the favourites. Coach Lionel Scaloni's team has been unbeaten in 35 games. And Messi doesn't want to leave anything to chance, but wants to prepare specifically for the World Cup. Thanks to an "Argentina clause" in his contract, this is apparently possible.
Actually, the schedule of the European leagues is tightly knit. Instead of lengthy preparations with the national team, as is usual with tournaments in summer, there are still league games to be played a few days before the start of the World Cup. Messi's club Paris St. Germain, for example, is still playing in the league against relegation candidates AJ Auxerre (November 13) just nine days before Argentina's first game against Saudi Arabia (November 22). But it looks like Messi will be able to do without it.
According to journalist Gaston Edul of TyC Sports, a clause in his contract, the so-called 'Argentina clause', should allow him to put commitments with the national team above those of the club. While PSG coach Christophe Galtier could veto the move, he and Messi are said to be on friendly terms, making this unlikely. What's more, PSG may well be worth more to have a happy Messi back after the tournament than one who might have been in a bad mood beforehand due to the club's possible insistence on playing the relegation contenders.
For Messi it will very likely be the last World Cup of his career. At the age of 35 he has yet to win a tournament. As is well known, Argentina lost to Germany in the 2014 final.
Messi has scored 90 goals in 164 international matches. In 2021, he and his teammates ended Argentina's long-running title curse by beating Brazil in the Copa America.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, Argentina will also meet Mexico and Poland in the group phase - there they will face off against superstar Robert Lewandowski. Like many experts, he believes that Argentina is "one of the top favourites", as he told FIFA Magazine. For that, the team needs a Messi in top form. He is currently demonstrating this at PSG: he scored 12 goals and provided 14 assists in 18 competitive games this season.
