Luis Enrique believes it would be “unfair” for Lionel Messi to end his glittering career without winning the World Cup, and he would like Argentina to triumph in Qatar if his Spanish team come up short.
Messi will begin his fifth World Cup campaign when Argentina take on Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, and the Albiceleste’s final defeat in 2014 was the closest he ever got to the trophy.
Despite scoring six World Cup goals (four in 2014), Messi has failed to find the net in 756 minutes of knockout action in the competition.
However, Messi comes into the tournament in top form after a period of adjustment at Paris Saint-Germain, and if Luis Enrique fails to lead Spain to glory in Qatar, he hopes his former Barcelona attacker emerges victorious.
“If Spain doesn’t win the World Cup, let Argentina win it,” Luis Enrique said on his Twitch channel on Friday. “It would be unfair for Messi to retire without a World Cup.”
When asked who he thought would be the main contenders for the trophy, Enrique added: “Brazil and Argentina are the favorites that everyone has in mind.
“France and Germany, of course. Also, Spain and the Netherlands as a surprise.
”
Luis Enrique made 12 appearances as a player for Spain in three World Cup campaigns in 1994, 1998 and 2002, scoring twice.
However, La Roja never made it past the quarterfinals during her time as a player, eventually lifting the trophy for the first time under Vicente del Bosque in 2010.
When asked which players from that World Cup-winning team he would add to his current squad, Luis Enrique identified several other former Barcelona favourites.
“I would sign Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta of the champions of Spain 2010, as [Gerard] pique and [Carles] Puyol”, he said. “But I’ll stay with [David] village to play [Alvaro] Morata.
“The best Spanish player in history is Villa, due to the number of goals he has scored with the national team.
“There are many others like [Laszlo] Kubala, Raúl or [Emilio] Butragueño, and obviously Iniesta”.
