Barcelona star Lionel Messi has brushed off suggestions that he wants to win a World Cup solely for his own personal standing in football history.
Some have claimed that the four-time Ballon d'Or winner is the greatest player of all time, while others have suggested that the Argentina international needs a World Cup to ratify those assertions.
However, Messi has said that he wants to lift the World Cup purely for the sake of winning football's biggest prize with his national side.
"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," Messi told ESPN.
"I've grown a lot [since the 2006 and 2010 tournaments]. Lots of things have happened to me, good and bad, which helped me grow as a person and a professional.
"I am my own number one critic. I always want to be better, to do more, to be my own top critic and accept the good and the bad. 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."
Messi scored 41 goals for Barca last season.
Paul Gorst
