Messi's room at the World Cup turned into a museum
On December 27, the Qatari news agency QNA posted on Twitter that the room that Messi stayed in during the 2022 World Cup will no longer be open to guests. Accordingly, the room will retain all that the Argentine star left as a small museum, for students and tourists visiting Qatar.
"This room will act as a small museum containing all of Messi's belongings. It will be a legacy for students and future generations and a witness to the great achievements that Messi has achieved at the club. World Cup 2022," Hitmi al Hitmi, Director of Communications and Public Relations at Qatar University, told local newspaper Al Sharq.
At the 2022 World Cup, Messi was in a private room with the sign B-201. Besides the 35-year-old striker, there are Rodrigo De Paul and Nicolas Otamendi in room B-202, Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes in room B-204. In major tournaments since the 2010 World Cup, Messi has always been in the same room as his close friend Sergio Aguero when he was on the national team for a long time. But Aguero did not participate in Qatar 2022 because he retired due to heart disease late last year.
When attending the 2022 World Cup, instead of staying in a 5-star hotel like many other teams, Argentina chose the dormitory of Qatar University. The university's facilities were used by Liverpool during the Club World Cup 2019, with many fields, a gym, swimming pool and a football field for training.
In addition to good facilities, another reason that Argentina is stationed at Qatar University is the large campus of the dormitory so that teachers and coaches Lionel Scaloni can organize traditional barbecues. The Argentine Football Association (AFA) said it was part of Argentina's culture, wanting team members to feel at home while training and playing in Qatar.
Qatar University's dormitories also have state-of-the-art sports facilities, including an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a 10,000-capacity stadium. The 90-room campus on the outskirts of Doha is considered one of the top Universities in the region. In addition, Al Hitmi said that the people in charge have improved and upgraded the rooms, including Messi's, to ensure the players have all the necessary amenities.
At the 2022 World Cup, Messi scored 7 goals, including a brace in the final against France, helping Argentina win the Gold Cup for the third time. As a result, the Argentine captain was awarded the World Cup Golden Ball - the award for the best player in the tournament at Qatar 2022, and won the best player award five times.
In a press conference on December 27, before the match against PSG Strasbourg in the round of 16 of Ligue 1, coach Christopher Galtier said that Messi will return to the club on January 2 or 3, 2023. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe - who also played in the 2022 World Cup final and Achraf Hakimi - a defender with Morocco that lost to Croatia in the third place match a day earlier, joined the army last week.
