Messi: I won't change my style for Argentina

The world Player of the Year has struggled to replicate his club form for his country but the Barcelona forward is unfazed by criticism.

Lionel Messi is one of five star forwards Diego Maradona, the Argentina coach, has at his disposal for the World Cup.

Lionel Messi does not feel any pressure to deliver for Argentina at the World Cup, with the World Player of the Year saying he will not change his Barcelona playing style to suit his country. Four years on from watching Argentina lose to Germany in the quarter-finals, Messi is a very different player from the 18-year-old who watched from the bench in Berlin that June afternoon.

This time around, Messi heads to the tournament in South Africa having won a string of personal honours and titles with Barcelona, scoring 47 goals last season for good measure. "I don't feel the pressure," said Messi. "The truth is I'm arriving in good shape. I have a strong desire to do as well as I can, as do my teammates. We want to give our best for Argentina and we hope things turn out well."

Diego Maradona, the national coach, has yet to capture Messi's best form, with the forward's performances for Barcelona seemingly on a different level to his international displays. "I won't change. I'll keep playing in the same way," Messi said. "I hope to be able to do what I do [in Barcelona] in the national team without my form suffering, because that [way of playing] is what has made me able to achieve everything I have."

Maradona has an array of attacking talent in Diego Milito, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero at his disposal. Argentina routed Canada 5-0 on Monday in their last friendly before the finals and Messi said: "I think Argentina is fortunate to have many top-quality forwards. That has been proven in this last year because if you look at all the important leagues, there is an Argentine there at the top. We are approaching the World Cup on very good form and that's great news."

Bizarrely, Messi has been forced to endure criticism in Argentina following some off-colour performances for his national side. "The criticism on how I play doesn't hurt," he said. "If it's because of my performances then I'm the first to criticise myself and the first to know I haven't done things well enough - it's not a problem. What hurts is when people talk about things unrelated to football. Things beyond football, things from outside."

Such criticism has seen Messi accused of being concerned solely with money or not being interested in playing for his country. "There is no doubt that winning a World Cup would be something unforgettable for the country, for me and for everybody," he added. "I have also won everything individually and now I would like to do the same with Argentina." * AP