Messi's mom on World Cup pursuit: 'We see him suffer and cry at times'

The pressure of bringing the World Cup back to Argentina has gotten the best of Lionel Messi at times, his mother says.

Despite being widely regarded as one of the all-time greats, the Barcelona star has faced plenty of criticism for his failure, thus far, to end Argentina's 32-year World Cup drought. He came closest in 2014, making it to the finals, but was forced to watch Germany celebrate its fourth World Cup triumph.

Although he rarely wears his emotions on his sleeve, Messi's mother, Celia Cuccittini, revealed that criticism of her son's performances with Argentina has deeply affected him.

"His aim is to bring the Cup home, to win the World Cup," Cuccittini told an Argentine sports station, as translated by Adriana Garcia of ESPN FC. "It's one of his biggest desires. We see him suffer and cry at times.

"He is the first who wants to bring the Cup with him. He more than anyone would give everything for this to be his World Cup."

Messi guided Argentina to a pair of appearances in the Copa America Finals following the country's World Cup heartbreak, but he ultimately failed to bring any hardware back home before contemplating international retirement.

He's faced even more backlash in Russia after his missed penalty resulted in a disappointing 1-1 draw in Argentina's opening match against Iceland.

"We suffer from all the criticism that Leo receives," Cuccittini said. "When people say that he doesn't feel it or that he plays for the national team out of obligation, that hurts as a mother and as a family. Luckily, people love him a lot and they transmit that to him and he values this a lot. As a mother, I do, too."

Messi will look to get Argentina back on track Thursday against Croatia.