The forward, who lost his Ballon d'Or crown to
Cristiano Ronaldo earlier in January, wants to shine in Spain, in Europe
and in this summer's World Cup
Lionel Messi believes he can put his fitness woes of 2013 behind him to have a phenomenal year with Barcelona and Argentina.The 26-year-old has scored four goals in his opening four games of 2014 having returned from a spell out on the sidelines, though lost his Ballon d'Or crown to Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
Despite losing the tag of best player on the planet, the Blaugrana attacker believes he can bounce back with top performances in 2013-14 and, in the summer, at the World Cup with the Albiceleste.
"I'm very happy," Messi told Perform. "I have plenty of desire to come back and play football after such a long time out.
"I'm lucky because step by step I'm starting to feel better, with a lot of vision to have a great year - not just with Barcelona but also with Argentina.
"Every year I start with the same mentality to have a good year. To keep growing and improving, to always be at the same level.
"Before the World Cup we have a lot of important things with Barcelona: we have the Champions League, La Liga and the Copa del Rey and that is not the only motivation for me, but [also] for all of us to keep growing."
Messi could return to action on Wednesday when Barca travel to Levante for the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final.
