Messi Hints at 2026 World Cup

Argentine World Cup-winning captain Lionel Messi has not ruled out playing at the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

“I don’t like to think about being ahead of myself. I live day-to-day. When the time comes we’ll see, I don’t like hurrying anything. Hopefully I can keep going like this because it makes me happy,” Messi was quoted by the Marca newspaper on Friday.

Messi, 37, spoke during a special ceremony where he was inducted with a trophy recognizing him as the most decorated player in football history.

He has emphasized the fact that he’s more concerned about staying in top form, rather than the milestones that may await him in the future.

“I don’t focus on that too much, I care about feeling good now, knowing I am doing well and playing well. If I’ll be in the 2026 World Cup or not. we’ll see then,” he said.

Messi matched that by saying, “I didn’t come to the US to retire.” The former Barcelona star, this July 2023, left Paris Saint-Germain for MLS side Inter Miami.

I came to help build something special with this club. We have been fortunate enough to win more titles and we are still hungry for more,” he started.

Messi won a record-matching four Champions League titles with Barcelona, led the Spanish team to 10 La Liga titles from 2005-2021, and taken home the prestigious Ballon D’or a record-smashing eight times. He completed his trophy cabinet with the win of Argentina in the World Cup of 2022.