Messi: World Cup absence makes me sad

Posted Saturday, June 22, 2013 by Goal.com

The Argentine craves international success with his country more than another Ballon d'Or award and revealed that he is not quite the footballing superstar back at home

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has expressed his anguish at being without a World Cup winners' medal in his trophy cabinet.

The Argentina forward, who turns 26 on Monday, has won four Ballons d'Or in a row but he stressed that what he really craves is the greatest prize in international football to add to his silverware collection.

"Between a fifth Ballon d'Or and a World Cup with Argentina, I'd want the latter, without a doubt," he told Corriere della Sera. "I'm missing a World Cup; it makes me sad."

Despite widely being considered as the best footballer on the planet right now, Messi's record-breaking antics fall on deaf ears at home with his wife Antonella, and the Blaugrana star admitted that he does not watch much of the sport he excels at.

He added: "I never watch football on television. Antonella gets bored with it. I come home and tell her I scored two or three goals, and she doesn't even hear me!"

Messi is currently recovering from a hamstring injury that saw him only appear intermittently in the final two months of Barcelona's Liga-winning 2012-13 campaign.