Berlin: Lothar Matthäus, former captain of the German national team, has praised Argentina star Lionel Messi for breaking his record as the player with the most World Cup appearances after the La Albiceleste captain appeared in the final match against France on Sunday.
Messi appeared in his 26th World Cup match in the team's victory over the French team, breaking the previous record of 25 held by the German.
Matthäus most prominent of World Cup matches was the final in Italy in 1990, which ended with Germany's victory over his Argentina rival, led by Diego Maradona.
Speaking of Messi, the 61-year-old Matthäus said, "What a player he is." What a star! How he led this team to victory at the age of 35 is something that cannot be described in words."
"If anything was needed to make him immortal with his fans, he has now achieved it. "We can be happy and grateful for his experience and continue to admire him," he said.
He noted that Messi is definitely the best of this millennium, and one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen.
The retired German star said that the Argentina national team deserved to win the title, because it was "the best team in this wonderful tournament," explaining that he was happy for this football-crazy country - as he described it.
Messi had stated that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which is his fifth, and probably will be the last in his football career, would be his last, but Matthews said that he would not be surprised if Messi appeared in the next edition of the World Cup in 2026 in the United States of America, Mexico, and Canada.
Source: QNA
