Lionel Messi

“We'll try to put on a good match, but I hope he and his team don't put on a good one,”

“I have never been a believer or thought that anything was destined to occur, but I am beginning to have my doubts. This is beyond all reasonable explanations,”

“but I hope he [Yamal] and his team don’t put on a good one.”

“I’ve followed him a lot because he plays for a club I love so much. He has a chance to achieve something historic. We’re going to try to make sure that doesn’t happen this time.”

“Messi also credited Argentina's fighting spirit, saying the squad's refusal to give up had once again carried them through a difficult situation.”

“It was a moment of pure happiness and relief; we wanted to stay in the tournament. We didn't want today to be the end, we didn't want to go home.”

“Turning a match around like that – coming back from 2-0 down – it wasn't easy, especially given how this World Cup is playing out and the fact that no-one is just rolling over,”

“Well, obviously as you get older, you lose things that you had when you were younger — things like speed, reaction time, or seeing the game faster, making decisions,”

“We’re coming off winning the last World Cup, and being able to defend it on the field again is spectacular because it’s always a dream to play with the national team, especially in official competitions, so hopefully God will allow me to do it once again.”

“Sometimes your mind is faster than your legs. But I think I always tried to overcome those things and keep trying to be at my best and get the most out of my physical abilities, my game, and I tried to adapt to the new circumstances.”

“Every team should have the opportunity to bring in players and sign whoever each team wants without limitations or rules for players to bring them in,”

“And I would like to be there. To feel well and to be an important part of helping my national team, if I am there. And I’m going to assess that on a day-to-day basis when I start preseason next year with Inter and see if I can really be 100%.”