Paris Saint-Germain will challenge Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe to follow their phenomenal World Cup feats by delivering a Champions League title in the new year.

The Qatar-owned club have European glory in their sights, and a difficult last-16 tie against Bayern Munich awaits them, with games against the German champions coming up in February and March.

After seeing Mbappe win the Golden Boot as top scorer, and Messi take the Golden Ball prize as the outstanding player, PSG undoubtedly had a strong World Cup.

The sight of Mbappe and Messi in opposition with France and Argentina, as they were in Sunday's World Cup final, will soon be replaced by them uniting on the field, possibly even by the end of the month.

PSG have a Ligue 1 game against Strasbourg on December 28, and it remains to be seen whether coach Christophe Galtier will have both men available for that game, given Messi is heading back to celebrate in Argentina in the coming days.

In a string of messages on social media, PSG addressed the two chief protagonists in the final, in which Messi scored twice and lifted the trophy, while Mbappe hit a hat-trick but finished on the beaten side.

"An extraordinary final from our two Parisians," the club said. "One of them had to win. You'll forever go down in footballing history, @leomessi.

"What a final! Bravo @leomessi, thank you @k.mbappe for all these emotions. You have been heroic. You have marked this World Cup with your talent. You should be proud."

Whatever French envy there might be towards Messi should soon subside, with a photograph of Mbappe and Messi touching hands during the game receiving plenty of love from PSG's players.

Club-mates Nuno Mendes and Danilo Pereira both posted the picture, adding emojis of applauding hands.

Midfield stalwart Marco Verratti addressed Messi's success, writing on Instagram: "You deserve it friend. Congratulations."

To Mbappe, Verratti wrote: "Head high. You showed the whole world that you're a phenomenon."

"Congratulations" was the message from defender Juan Bernat to Messi, and "Bravo to you too" he said to Mbappe.

Former PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino praised Argentina coach Scaloni, saying in a message to his compatriot: "Congratulations Lionel. Thank you!"

Addressing Messi, Pochettino added: "Deserved @leomessi. Thank you!"

PSG have never won the Champions League, and it is the footballing holy grail for them now, with each incoming coach knowing winning domestic silverware alone is not considered to be fulfilling the remit of the job.

They went closest in 2020, losing out in the final to Bayern, for whom Frenchman Kingsley Coman scored the only goal in Lisbon. Coman was one of two France players to fail from the spot in Sunday's World Cup penalty shoot-out, along with Aurelien Tchouameni.

Given the outstanding form that Messi and Mbappe have shown over the last month, PSG may never be better placed to strike for continental trophy glory.

Yet there is another matter brewing, which is that Messi and Mbappe may be in the final throes of their club alliance.

With Messi's two-year contract at PSG due to expire at the end of this season, removing uncertainty over his future might become as great a priority as the next trophy.

President Nasser Al-Khelaifi said in early December the matter would be discussed after the World Cup, with Messi having been linked with a possible end-of-season switch to Inter Miami.

Lionel Messi expressed his disbelief after Argentina ended their long wait to clinch a third World Cup crown with a thrilling victory over France.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward scored twice in a dramatic six-goal thriller, with Lionel Scaloni's side emerging as victors following a penalty shoot-out.

It brought an end to a 36-year wait for World Cup glory, with Argentina previously suffering defeats at the final hurdle in 1990 and 2014 – the latter of which saw Messi on the losing side.

After a seven-goal haul and taking home the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament, Messi finally got his hands on the biggest prize of all and took to social media to share his thoughts.

"I dreamt about it so many times, I wanted it so much that I still can't believe it," he posted on Instagram.

"Thank you so much to my family, to all who support me and also to all who believed in us. We prove once again that Argentinians when we fight together and united we are able to achieve what we aim.

"The merit is of this group, which is above individuals, is the strength of all fighting for the same dream that was also the one of all Argentinians... We did it!!!"

Awarded player of the match in the final, Messi was expected to feature in a post-game press conference but skipped attendance as celebrations continued with the squad.

However, he did speak on the field following Argentina's triumph and made his desire to continue representing his nation clear.

"I enjoy being in the national team, the group, I want to continue living a few more games being world champion," he told TyC Sports.

Lionel Scaloni says there will be a place for Lionel Messi in Argentina's 2026 World Cup squad if he has a change of heart after he lifted the trophy for the first time in Qatar on Sunday.

Messi scored twice in an incredible final against France, which the Albiceleste won 4-2 on penalties following a thrilling 3-3 draw.

Argentina looked to be cruising to victory after goals from Messi and Angel Di Maria put them two up at the break, but Kylian Mbappe's late quickfire double forced extra time.

Messi put the Copa America champions back ahead in the additional 30 minutes, only for Mbappe to level once more for his hat-trick and take the game all the way to penalties.

Aurelien Tchouameni and Kingsley Coman failed to convert in the shoot-out, which Gonzalo Montiel ended by slotting in the winning spot-kick to make Argentina world champions for a third time.

Messi stated after the match he would carry on playing at international level, but the 35-year-old confirmed before the tournament started that this would be his last World Cup.

Argentina head coach Scaloni says his captain will be selected in four years' time if he changes his mind.

"First of all we need to save him a spot for the next World Cup," Scaloni told reporters. "If he wants to keep playing, he'll be with us.

"He's more than entitled to decide if he wants to keep playing for Argentina or not, or what he wants to do with his career."

Messi was pipped to the Golden Boot due to Mbappe's hat-trick, having started the match level on five goals.

Argentina's star man was, however, awarded with the Golden Ball as the best player in the tournament and Scaloni heaped praise on the mercurial forward.

He said: "It's such a huge pleasure to coach him and his team-mates.

"Everything he transmits to his teams, it's unparalleled, something I've never seen before. He gives so much to his team-mates."

After throwing away a two-goal lead with less than 10 minutes to play, before again letting France back in during extra time, Scaloni was relieved it was finally mission accomplished for Argentina.

"The match was completely insane," Scaloni stated. "For me as coach, I know we had a good match.

"We could’ve won in the first 90 [minutes], however it was not possible. I wasn’t lucky enough, but we were great.

"My feelings? I have the best feelings ever. It wasn’t in my plans, I didn’t envisage to be World Cup winners, [but] we are, and what matters is how we achieved this."

The years leading up to this World Cup triumph have seen Messi take more of a leadership role within the Argentina team, despite having been captain since 2011.

Scaloni revealed Messi had even helped him to calm his nerves, after he took over in 2018 with limited experience.

"After the Brazil match [1-1] in San Juan, a World Cup qualifying match. I called him before he went back to Paris because I thought we were going to face challenging times," Scaloni said.

"The feelings were so strong and disappointment could be massive, because people are very passionate about our national team, and people could get disappointed.

"[Messi] said it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, we'll move on. if things go well, perfect, we have to try at least.

"That gave me so much energy, it was an emotional boost. With his answer, I realised we were doing things right."

Lionel Messi is the reason behind Argentina's glory in the World Cup final against France, Alexis Mac Allister believes, as he expressed his view that the forward is the greatest player of all-time.

Messi struck twice in a six-goal thriller to become the first player to score in every round of a World Cup tournament, with Argentina emerging as victors following a penalty shoot-out.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward was announced as the Golden Ball winner after the final whistle, while his appearance gave him the honour of featuring in the most World Cup matches in history (26).

Having added a World Cup to his trophy haul, Mac Allister believes the debate around who the greatest of all time is has ended.

"It's always Messi," he replied when asked by ITV what gave Argentina their victory.

"I think he's the best player in the world, the best player of all-time. He is amazing, he is a really nice guy, he is humble.

"He has everything to be the best player in history. It's amazing to share a dressing room with him and I'm very grateful."

Mac Allister also saved praise for goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who made a decisive save in extra time to deny Randal Kolo Muani before keeping Kingsley Coman at bay in the penalty shoot-out.

It was not the first time the Aston Villa stopper has provided heroics, with two saves in the quarter-final shoot-out against the Netherlands, and Mac Allister dubbed his compatriot as "amazing".

"Emi did really well, he is an amazing keeper, he helped us a lot during this tournament. I'm really pleased for him and really pleased for this country and for this team."

Lionel Messi promised he would play on for Argentina to experience "a few more games being world champion" after inspiring their triumph in Qatar.

The World Cup belongs to Messi and Argentina after Sunday's spectacular final that saw Kylian Mbappe hit a hat-trick for France but still end up on the losing side.

A 4-2 victory on penalties after a 3-3 draw gave Argentina their third World Cup success, after lifting the trophy in 1978 and 1986, and means Messi's final appearance on the biggest stage of all ended in a fairy tale manner.

It was the trophy he had been striving to win before the end of his career, and the 35-year-old finished the tournament with seven goals and three assists, becoming the first player to score in every round and the group stage.

He took the Golden Ball award as the best player, but Mbappe pipped him to the Golden Boot with eight goals.

Messi told TyC Sports: "Obviously I wanted to close my career with this, I can't ask for anything any more. Thank God, he gave me everything. Closing almost my career like this, it's impressive."

Messi knows his career is winding down, and he put in the work to make sure he was in prime shape for one last shot at the World Cup.

His emotional reaction after the final whistle, kissing the trophy at the first opportunity, reflected how dearly Messi wanted this moment.

A double in the final meant Messi became the highest-scoring South American player in major international tournaments with 26 goals - 13 in the World Cup as many in the Copa America. That took him one goal ahead of Brazil great Ronaldo, who previously held the record.

"After this, what will there be? I was able to get the Copa America, World Cup… It came to me almost at the end," Messi said

"I enjoy being in the national team, the group, I want to continue living a few more games being world champion.

"It's every little kid's dream, I was lucky to have achieved everything and what I was missing is here."

Lionel Messi is a World Cup winner at the fifth and final attempt, after Argentina held their nerve to defeat France in one of the greatest matches in tournament history.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, who claimed a second Golden Ball with his brace, saw off domestic team-mate Kylian Mbappe, who bagged only the second-ever hat-trick in men's final history, to win in Doha.

La Albiceleste appeared to have wrapped up the prize after goals for Messi and Angel Di Maria in the first half, but were made to work for their triumph after France rose from the canvas to force extra-time – and then penalties again after a 3-3 draw.

But Argentina delivered in the shoot-out, winning it 4-2 to end a 36-year drought for football's biggest prize, and confirming one of their true legends adds the biggest accolade of all to his trophy cabinet.

Messi's long-awaited success at the tournament was widely celebrated by players and peers across the game, with Paris Saint-Germain colleague Neymar saluting him on social media.

"Congratulations brother," he posted on Twitter.

Romario, who like Messi won the Golden Ball and the World Cup trophy in the same tournament when he did so with Brazil in 1994, mentioned Argentina legend Diego Maradona, with this the first tournament since his passing in November 2020.

"I'm sure my friend Maradona is happy to see this victory, as are his people," Romario said on Twitter. "Congratulations Argentina!

"Argentina were better on the field and Messi received the title he was missing today, that of world champion for his country."

Andrea Pirlo, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, stated: "Great final... congratulations to Messi and Argentina!"

Jerome Boateng started for Germany against Argentina in the 2014 World Cup final, when a 113th-minute Mario Gotze winner condemned Messi's side to defeat.

Having watched Messi come back from that devastating loss to finally get his hands on international football's top prize, Boateng spoke of his joy at watching him finally lift the trophy.

"Congratulations Lionel Messi and Argentina. Finally you got the trophy you truly deserve," Boateng said.

Former Barcelona colleague Dani Alves was delighted for Messi on Instagram, stating: "Football loves you and those of us who love football respect you and congratulate you right now for that moment.

"Enjoy it with your family. As a Brazilian and as a South American, I know that's more than winning that cup."

Diego Maradona Junior wept tears of joy as Argentina laid their hands on the World Cup for the first time since his father led the Albiceleste to Mexico 86 glory.

Two years have passed since superstar Maradona's death at the age of 60, after a tumultuous life that was defined by his World Cup achievements.

Now Lionel Messi has followed Maradona into the history books as the captain, number 10 and driving force of a team that has conquered the world.

Maradona Junior posted on Instagram a video of himself sobbing, while saying: "We're champions."

He added in a post: "The cup is going to Buenos Aires."

Argentina landed the trophy in Qatar on Sunday by beating France 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out after a sensational 3-3 draw that featured a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappe and two goals from Messi.

Maradona's Instagram account, now administered by his children, showed a merged picture of Daniel Passarella, Maradona and Messi – captains of the country's 1978, 1986 and 2022 winning teams – each holding the World Cup trophy.

"ARGENTINA WORLD CHAMPION!!!" its caption exclaimed.

"I imagine your pride, old man.. Thanks for a new joy."

Many thought Lionel Messi's World Cup hopes had evaporated in the Kazan sun four and a half years ago when Argentina were beaten 4-3 by France in the quarter-finals of Russia 2018.

Qatar 2022 brought the possibility for revenge, but again those chances looked to be vanishing as a Kylian Mbappe-inspired France simply refused to go away in Sunday's utterly enthralling final, which ended 3-3 after extra time.

But with Emiliano Martinez doing the business in a penalty shoot-out for the Albiceleste, Argentina would not let the most elusive of opportunities slip from Messi's grasp again.

As the story goes, he still has sleepless nights because of the 2014 final defeat to Germany; those nightmares will be overwritten with the 2022 final replaying in his dreams for the rest of his life.

After all, for Messi, everything came down to this.

He reiterated this week that Sunday's showpiece would be his last World Cup game. Everyone assumed that would be the case anyway, but the final confirmation only served to increase the anticipation.

This was essentially France against the world. There has arguably never been a World Cup final more one-sided in terms of support, and it was all because of one player.

For years the debate over the 'greatest of all time', or 'the GOAT', has swirled around Messi. While the majority have not needed any further convincing of his entitlement to such a status, there have always been dissenters.

Messi's detractors pointed to one caveat: a lack of success with Argentina. Technically, that was accounted for last year with Copa America glory, but for him to definitively silence the most stubborn of doubters, he would need to match Diego Maradona and win the World Cup.

Even before Argentina and Les Bleus served up their feast at the massive golden bowl of Lusail, there had been countless signs that something was different about Messi this time.

There has been an anger, a vengeance to his performances and aura in Qatar. From ice-cold goal celebrations to embracing – leading, even – the needle in the quarter-final shoot-out win over the Netherlands, Messi has looked like a man possessed by in the pursuit of one final ambition.

He very much picked up where he left off against Croatia here. The first 20 minutes went almost as well as it could have, Messi at the centre of practically everything.

France looked petrified in the face of Argentina's intensity, their aggression; the Albiceleste seemed to relish the expectation on their shoulders.

Les Bleus routinely conceded possession in their own half, inviting pressure and, ultimately, a goal. Angel Di Maria skinned Ousmane Dembele easily and then lured him into a clumsy foul in the box.

The wait for Messi to take the kick felt like an age, but he dispatched it with the nonchalance of a man who already knew his destiny.

It was a just reward for Argentina's ferocious start, and more was to come in the form of an instant all-time classic World Cup final goal.

Again, Messi was crucial. His improbable flick after receiving a tricky pass was devilishly effective. Releasing Julian Alvarez into the France half on the counter, the striker had the awareness to feed Alexis Mac Allister and his perfectly weighted pass into the box left Di Maria with an easy finish.

It capped off a first-half performance that left Didier Deschamps utterly shellshocked, with the France coach's double withdrawal before half-time a first for a World Cup final.

But Argentina shrunk after the break and their plan to sit on a 2-0 lead proved ill-conceived. France did not initially threaten, but once they did, Lionel Scaloni's men were suddenly in a sorry state – oh, how the tables turned.

Mbappe slammed home one penalty, and just 97 seconds later found the net again – a clinical finish after a clever one-two with Marcus Thuram. It was Messi who yielded possession in the build-up to what had only five minutes earlier looked an impossible equaliser.

While Mbappe had gone from 0-100 in the blink of an eye, Argentina's captain suddenly looked exhausted, physically and emotionally. It was slipping through his fingers in the most excruciating way. 

And yet, even in the face of the newly inspired Mbappe, Messi stood out as the man most likely to deliver the telling blow.

Indeed, Argentina thought Messi had won it when he tapped in after Hugo Lloris failed to hold Lautaro Martinez's strike in the second half of extra time.

But back came France. Again. Another Mbappe penalty brought despair to the Argentina team, bench and crowd. A shoot-out beckoned, and even then only after Emiliano Martinez had saved brilliantly from Randal Kolo Muani at the death.

And so it was that the most outrageous of World Cup finals was going all the way; Messi's last tango was going to be as agonisingly intense as possible.

Mbappe stepped up first and scored, of course, but Messi matched that with a penalty so cool-headed that his team-mates must surely have drawn inspiration from it.

Emiliano Martinez's save from Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni's woeful miss proved decisive. Argentina cried; France stood in shock having come so close to their own seismic moment in history, fighting back twice in defence of their title, only to leave with nothing.

But this was all about Messi. The greatest player of all time finally got his chance to lift the most coveted prize in football, the one trophy his greatness demanded. Argentina flocked to him, barely a dry eye in the stadium.

"Messi! Messi! Messi!" fans sang at full-time as the huge crowd in Lusail revelled in the gravity of what they had just witnessed.

This was what World Cup finals are supposed to be like, but in virtually every way there will probably never be another like this.

It was the football equivalent of man setting foot on the moon for the first time; in future years people will reminisce over where they were when Messi won the World Cup, and the sheer lunacy of the game will only add to what was already a captivating tale.

At long last, Messi took his own giant leap, finally conquering his final frontier.

Lionel Messi has won the World Cup Golden Ball, becoming the first man to do so twice, after inspiring Argentina to a penalty shoot-out victory over France following a scintillating Qatar 2022 final.

Messi, who steered La Albiceleste to their first world title since 1986, scored a double in an undulating classic that finished 3-3 after extra time, before scoring in a shoot-out that Argentina won 4-2 to make history in Doha.

Having been named the Golden Ball winner eight years ago at Brazil 2014, when Argentina were edged by Germany in the final, the 35-year-old twice looked poised for heartbreak again after Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick.

But after Emiliano Martinez saved Kingsley Coman's spot-kick, Gonzalo Montiel's decisive penalty ensured he claimed the greatest prize of all in his last World Cup game.

It means Messi emulates countryman Diego Maradona once more, too, with Maradona the player of the tournament in Argentina's previous triumph 36 years ago.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner departs World Cup football after one of the most influential tournament performances of all time on a match-to-match basis, taking his total of Player of the Match wins to 11 across five tournaments.

He was named the Player of the Match in five games, including all of their prior knockout fixtures and the final, besting the record of four he previously jointly shared with the Netherlands' Wesley Sneijder after his performances in 2014.

Mbappe, meanwhile, won up the Silver Ball and Croatia's Luca Modric - the previous Golden Ball winner at Russia 2018 - was named the recipient of the Bronze Ball.

Kylian Mbappe clinched the World Cup Golden Boot with a dramatic hat-trick in Sunday's final, though his efforts were in vain as Lionel Messi's Argentina triumphed on penalties.

Mbappe entered Sunday's game level with Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Messi on five goals, and twice fell behind in his battle with the Argentina captain in a thrilling contest.

Messi became the first player to reach 20 World Cup goal involvements when he opened the scoring with a penalty following Ousmane Dembele's trip on Angel Di Maria, who then capped a flowing move to put Argentina 2-0 up.

However, Mbappe was gifted a route back into the battle atop the goalscoring charts with 10 minutes remaining, tucking a penalty home after Nicolas Otamendi fouled Randal Kolo Muani.

Mbappe then moved clear in the race for the Golden Boot in incredible fashion 97 seconds later, lashing a first-time volley beyond Emiliano Martinez to force extra time.

Messi looked to have sealed the award – and the trophy for his country – once again when he prodded Argentina back in front in extra time, but Mbappe responded with yet another spot-kick when Gonzalo Montiel was penalised for handball.

That made Mbappe just the second player to score a hat-trick in a men's World Cup final, and the first since England's Geoff Hurst did so against West Germany in 1966.

Mbappe followed up his heroics by converting the first penalty of the shoot-out, but misses from Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni saw his campaign end in heart-breaking fashion as Argentina claimed their third title. 

Having netted in 2018's win against Croatia, Mbappe is now the highest-scoring player in World Cup final history with four, while his overall tally of 12 goals at the tournament puts him level with three-time champion Pele.

Mbappe's total of eight goals in Qatar is the joint highest at a single World Cup since Gerd Muller scored 10 times in 1970 (also Ronaldo, eight in 2002), but that will come as little consolation to the forward following France's painful defeat.

Lionel Messi and Argentina won an all-time classic World Cup final despite Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick taking France into a penalty shoot-out following a 3-3 draw on Sunday.

Gonzalo Montiel converted the winning spot-kick to clinch a 4-2 shoot-out success for Argentina at the end of a thriller at Lusail Stadium, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez having saved Kingsley Coman's attempt and seen Aurelien Tchouameni fire wide.

France, aiming to become only the third side to ever retain the trophy, battled back from two goals down in normal time after Mbappe converted an 81st-minute penalty and scored a delightful volley 97 seconds later.

Messi had opened the scoring, before Angel Di Maria rounded off a delightful counter-attacking move, and the Albiceleste number 10 restored his side's lead in the 108th minute, only for Mbappe to respond again two minutes before the end of extra time.

That teed up penalties, with both Mbappe and Messi converting before Argentina gave their captain a fitting World Cup farewell. 

Lionel Messi became the first player in World Cup history to score in every round of a single edition of the tournament after putting Argentina ahead against France in Sunday's final.

The Argentina captain opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute when he calmly sent Hugo Lloris the wrong way after Ousmane Dembele felled Angel Di Maria.

Messi is the first man to net in the group stage, the round of 16, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final at one World Cup.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward also became the first to 20 direct goal involvements at the finals (12 goals, eight assists), while no player has scored or assisted in more different matches (14) than the 35-year-old, whose sensational campaign showed no signs of slowing.

Lionel Messi will break the record for most World Cup match appearances in Sunday's final against France after being named in Argentina's starting XI.

Messi's outing in the semi-final win over Croatia took his World Cup games tally to 25, level with Lothar Matthaus.

But he was unsurprisingly named among the starters for Sunday's showpiece at Lusail Stadium, with Messi aiming to win the World Cup for the first time.

Another lesser record is within his grasp as well, as Messi will be become the first player to score in the group stage, last 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final in a single edition of the tournament if he nets against Les Bleus.

That would also ensure he becomes the first player (since 1966) to record 20 goal involvements in World Cup tournaments, as he goes into the game with 19 (11 goals, eight assists).

Messi and nine others retain their places in the team from the semi-final, with the only change seeing Angel Di Maria come in for Leandro Paredes.

France's major concern ahead of the final had been the virus being spread around their camp.

However, they appear to have come through the worst of it, with everyone available for selection.

As such, Didier Deschamps reverts to his preferred starting XI, with Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot returning to the line-up – the former was only fit enough for a bench role against Morocco, while the latter missed out entirely.

There had been reports of additional players contracting the illness during the week, while Aurelien Tchouameni, Theo Hernandez and Olivier Giroud were said to be struggling with injuries.

But all were deemed fit enough to start as France aim to become the first European nation since Italy in 1938 – and just the third country ever – to retain their World Cup crown.

Drake, known for his frequent jinxes on sporting teams, has staked $1million on Argentina to beat France in Sunday's World Cup final.

With Lionel Messi set to face off against France in what will be his last attempt to finally achieve World Cup glory, the Canadian rapper is backing Argentina to be victorious at Lusail Stadium.

But this may not bode well for Messi and Argentina, with Drake having previously shown a propensity to 'curse' teams he is supporting, especially when it comes to gambling.

Just last month, Drake lost $2m when he heavily backed reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya against Alex Pereira at UFC 281, only for the Brazilian fighter to win by TKO and take Adesanya's belt.

The 'God's Plan' rapper also recently found himself $649,000 down when part of his accumulator had Barcelona to beat Real Madrid in October's El Clasico, which the latter won by a 3-1 scoreline.

Drake's record label OVO had its logo displayed on Barcelona's kit during that match as a celebration of him hitting 50 billion streams on Spotify, which currently sponsors the Spanish giants, where Messi is a club legend.

Drake was seen backing Argentina in Sunday's showpiece match on a video posted online with a friend, saying: "I'll take Argentina, he'll take France. That will be a vibe."

The 36-year-old has now put his money where his mouth is by placing the eye-watering amount on La Albiceleste to come out on top against the current holders.

Argentina fans and Drake will be hoping that Messi finally gets his hands on international football's elite prize, with the latter set for a total payout of $2.75m if Lionel Scaloni's men lift the trophy.

Lionel Messi's future remains unclear, but Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi says any decision over a new deal will be made "in the best interests of both parties".

Argentina captain Messi joined PSG in a shock move after his Barcelona contract expired last year and he is set to become a free agent once again at the end of this season.

Reports during the World Cup suggested Messi has already agreed terms with Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, though they have since been rejected by his agent.

Speaking ahead of Sunday's Qatar 2022 final between Messi's Argentina and France, Al-Khelaifi reiterated contract talks will not take place until the new year.

"The club and player will do what is right and in the best interests of both parties," Al-Khelaifi added in the interview with La Gazzetta Dello Sport. "We're all very happy right now."

Messi has scored and assisted 26 goals for PSG this season, a tally only team-mate Neymar and Manchester City's Erling Haaland have matched in Europe's top five leagues.

Messi's faces colleague his Kylian Mbappe in the World Cup final, with the France forward another player who has been tipped to move despite only recently agreeing fresh terms.

"Kylian has just signed a new contract, and Leo's lasts at least until the end of the season," Al-Khelaifi said. "Both, but in reality all of our players, are happy to play for PSG. 

"Their most recent performances prove it, even before the World Cup. PSG have not lost a single match so far. And the women's PSG, as usual, is doing very well."