Football “needs” Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi to taste World Cup glory, according to tennis star and fellow Argentine Juan Martin del Potro.
While being a five-time Ballon d’Or winner and a man with four Champions League crowns and eight La Liga titles to his name, all-time great Messi is yet to savour senior international success.
He has graced World Cup and Copa America finals, but fate has always conspired against him to leave a gaping hole on the most distinguished of sporting CVs.
He will get another opportunity to right those wrongs in Russia this summer, with 2009 US Open winner Del Potro of the opinion that a triumph for Argentina would be embraced by supporters across the globe.