'I was sure that God was going to give me a World Cup'

Lionel Messi has opened up on his World Cup win with Argentina and revealed the emotions he went through during the tournament.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward had a memorable tournament where he won the Golden Ball, the trophy awarded to the best player in the tournament.

In an interview with Dario Ole, the 35-year-old spoke about how he felt it was God's will that the World Cup come back to Argentina.

"I was sure that God was going to give me a World Cup. I don't know why, but I felt strongly about it. He chose the best moment," he said.

The final against France was one for the ages and it came down to penalties, after being 3-3 between both sides in the 120 minutes.

Right back Gonzalo Montiel had to take the final penalty which won Argentina the World Cup and Messi revealed how he was feeling at that time.

"I was asking to God that Cachete [Montiel] to please score the penalty, and to finish everything…"

The tournament started with a big hiccup for Argentina though, as they were shocked to a 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia and they were in danger of being knocked out in the group stages.

"Obviously I was very scared because the game didn't turn out as we expected. But all the strength of the group was shown after the game we won against Mexico, everything was strengthened. Against Arabia, it was one of our worst games."

Messi was criticised for not performing like he did at club football and going missing in big games for the national team and not winning the World Cup, but he proved his doubters wrong with this World Cup win.

"To be able to say that we are World Champions, that I am a World Champion, is what I sought all my career. It's something unique. To be able to say that I've won everything in my career is just crazy," he added.

"To this day it's a very exciting moment, seeing it today makes me much more emotional, I watch all the videos that appear on social networks" he concluded.