Did Messi really save himself for World Cup?

After enjoying years of otherworldly genius from Lionel Messi, the last few months have been rather disappointing for La Pulga fans. Despite achieving incredible stats that are next to only Cristiano Ronaldo who is in his form of life, even the staunchest of Messi supporters would not opt for a debate that the little genius is under performing for around a year now, only by his own standards. While Barcelona banked on their prized asset to win their customary silverware, it came as a shock that Messi went uncharacteristically lost when needed most.

Unsurprisingly, the critics were ready to wave a good bye to ‘Messi era’. On the other hand, supporters expect him to still be in the recovery process after repeated injuries and it is just a matter of time that he rediscovers his finest feet. Arguments that Messi has lost his passion for the game, that he is distracted by the birth of his son, that he is not happy with the renewed contract at Barcelona also exist. Finally, there is also talk that Messi is saving himself for World Cup. Amidst all these opinions, though it is only Messi who knows the real reason, can we actually conclude something with good probability?

For a player who is happy with just a ball at his feet; who grows new feet in the air and continues running with the ball when fouled, things like contract renewal, the birth of a son and passion should usually not be issues to stop him from enjoying the game to the extreme. Messi himself brushed away these arguments,"The only thing that matters is playing. I have enjoyed it since I was a small boy. I still try to do that every time I go out onto the pitch. I always say that, when it's no longer enjoyable or fun to play, then I won't do it anymore. I do it because I love it and that's all I care about."

At not even 27, Messi is yet to reach his prime like almost every other footballer. While Miroslav Klose is breaking records at the age of 35, it is unfair to write off a player as talented as Messi, so soon, especially just after he endured long periods by the sidelines due to injuries. Messi might arguably be still rediscovering his form after injuries, but one cannot rule out that he is saving himself for the World Cup.

Unfortunately, four injuries in just eight months might be still hunting Messi. Injuries to stars like Falcao, Costa and Ronaldo seemingly cemented Messi's fear of injuries from time to time. The forward recently expressed his desperation to stay fit when asked of warm up friendlies. "No one wants any injury to occur, we are all being very careful of that, the idea is to spend some time on the pitch and get the rhythm needed before competition starts. It is important to note that, now, there is not much time left to recover, if injured."

Messi was also accused of walking on the pitch for long periods towards the business end of the previous campaign. Criticism of the Barca superstar reached a new level when he evidently ran just 1.5 kilometers more than his goal keeper, Pinto, during the Champions League quarter final loss to Atletico Madrid. A part of this should be attributed to tight marking of Messi by the opposition, however, it will be too biased to not blame the intentions of  multiple Ballon d’Or winner.

If there is anything that Blaugrana superstar is yet to achieve in football, the first in the list is surely a World Cup with his country, Argentina. Also, the Argentine is not so dear to his countrymen like the legendary Maradona is and should be looking to take this opportunity in order to bridge the gap with his compatriots. In fact, Messi recently admitted his strong desire to emulate the former Argentina superstar by leading his country to glory this summer. "I was jealous. It was healthy jealousy. I wanted to trade places with them," he said ESPN  "And no matter how much I ask, they can't fully explain how it feels to win a World Cup. I want to be world champion but not to change the perception of others towards me, or to achieve greatness like they say, but to reach the goal with my national team and to add a World Cup to my list of titles.”

Well, who knows, Messi might actually want to win the comparisons with the former Napoli man. "The comparison with Maradona is a very nice compliment, but not one that I can accept yet," Messi mused. "He did so much for the national team – and I don't think any player can be considered a true great until they have won the World Cup. I hope that I can do that and I hope I can do that this summer – but until then I don't talk about me as the best."

Be it to prove himself as the best ever or as a matter of just another title, one thing appears so certain – Messi is obsessed with winning the World Cup and he knows this is his best chance. With this presumption and Messi’s fear of getting injured, it is easy to believe that the Argentina captain is involving less on the field to keep himself away from any potential injuries.

In effect, the Barcelona talisman might have well chosen to not take the risk of hurting himself in order to help Catalans win silverware this term. The attacker possibly backed himself by assuming that he deserves to act selfish after leading his club to innumerable national and international trophies in very short time.

The moralities of this possible decision by the Albiceleste skipper should be up for debate on another day, but for now, it would be peaceful for a Messi fan to assume this to be actually true. The famous Argentine writer Martín Caparrós said,

“Let us all hope that Messi is a bastard, betraying everyone at Barcelona who believed in him, just in order to be good in the World Cup. Else, if he keeps playing like he has played the last two months, football is going to miss a lot of magic.”