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Argentina star Lionel Messi posted a heartfelt message on Instagram after his 1000th career game for club and country.
The PSG ace marked the occasion with a goal in Argentina's 2-1 win over Australia in the Round of 16 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Saturday (December 3). He has now taken to Instagram to post an emotional message, thanking everyone for their support.
Messi wrote (as translated from Spanish):
"1k games already smh And always with the same feeling I felt the first time I played as a professional. Thank you very much to everyone who has accompanied me in this beautiful journey."
The post garnered over one million likes after just over ten minutes and thousands of comments, including one from his beloved club, Barcelona. The Blaugrana wrote:
"Proud to be part of the #journey."
Indeed, it was with the Camp Nou that Messi made the most of his career appearances, with a staggering 778, followed by 169 with Argentina and another 53 with PSG.
During this incredible run, the 35-year-old has scored 789 goals and made 338 assists, and won 41 titles with club and country.
He's currently on the quest to win the most coveted prize of them all, the FIFA World Cup, as Messi is making his fifth and likely last appearance in the competition.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has long coveted the ultimate prize in football, but that has eluded him so far. However, with Argentina on a great run of form, this might be the year Messi finally gets the monkey off his back.
Lionel Messi's Argentina face Netherlands in quarterfinals of 2022 FIFA World Cup
Argentina continue their pursuit of a third FIFA World Cup title with a clash against Netherlands in the quarterfinals on Friday (December 9).
The Sky Blues have made a wonderful recovery from their 2-1 opening game loss to Saudi Arabia, recovering their mojo to revive their campaign.
Messi is also on fire with three goals in Qatar, including one in the Australia win to mark his first strike in the knockouts of the competition.
Netherlands will obviously be his toughest challenge yet in this year's edition. Louis van Gaal's side are unbeaten in their last 19 games and put on a classic in their 3-1 defeat of USA in the Round of 16.
Interestingly, their last FIFA World Cup appearance, coming in 2014, ended against Argentina in the semifinals, who prevailed on penalties, so avenging that loss could be on the Oranje's minds too.
