'I hope football gives me what it owes me'

Lionel Messi is an icon of world football. He has won more honours than most people can count, with his trophy cabinet littered with both team triumphs and individual gongs accrued over the course of his already long professional career, but there is one major title that continus to evade him: the World Cup.

Obviously, after firing his homeland to next summer's tournament, Messi's objective is to take home the biggest trophy in world football and finally silence what few doubters remain.

Following Argentina's qualification for Russia, Sampaoli said that football owes Messi a World Cup. When quizzed on the comments recently in an interview with FIFA, the Rosario-born star admitted to being aware of the comments and agreed with Sampaoli's sentiments.

"Yes, I heard what he said. He said the same thing to me. I hope that football ends up paying me what I'm owed," Messi replied, whilst trying to hold back a laugh.

Despite the last World Cup already being pratically ancient history, Messi says that he cannot get the thought of that 'missed opportunity' out of his head.

"The wounds of Brazil 2014 still haven't healed... and I don't know if they ever will. We will have to live with that. That World Cup is a happy memory of mine, albeit with a bitter ending," he explained.

The forward also explained that his style of play has changed signficiantly as his career has progressed. "You grow and as time passes, you aquire new skills. In the same way that you grow as a person, you do the same on the pitch," said the star.

Looking ahead to next summer's World Cup, Messi admitted that Chile's failure to qualify surprised him, saying: "It surprised me just like everyone else. Chile are used to winning. They have good players. It's getting harder and harder to qualify for the World Cup."

What about Argentina? How are they looking ahead of the trip to Russia next summer? Well, Messi is quietly confident. "We'll be in good shape. We're going to improve a lot. Argentina are going to change a lot," Messi pledged.

Once again Messi will continue his search for that elusive World Cup title, will the Argentine manage to banish the ghosts of Brazil by starring in Russia? We'll find out in June...