Messi hints at likely absence from 2026 World Cup
Argentina legend and former Barcelona player Lionel Messi has sparked strong reactions in football by suggesting that he is unlikely to participate in the 2026 World Cup. Many had assumed that the 38-year-old would be present at the tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico if he were still playing, but the Inter Miami star hinted otherwise.
Messi started and played the full 90 minutes in Buenos Aires, in what was his final official home match. He marked the occasion with two goals against Venezuela in a 3-0 victory, with Argentina already having secured first place in the South American qualifiers, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.
“I don’t think I’ll play in another World Cup,” Messi said after the match, as reported by Diario AS. “The most logical conclusion is that I won’t be there, but here we are. I have hope and enthusiasm. But it’s day by day, match by match.”
Messi has been largely absent for Inter Miami this season, with injuries affecting his progress.
“This year we had many matches, many sequences of matches. Fortunately, I managed to play three in a row; it’s just day by day, feeling things. It’s clear that today was my last points-scoring match here, but day by day I try to feel good and, above all, be honest with myself. If I feel good, I enjoy it. If I feel bad, I would rather not be here.”
This season in the United States, Messi has scored 27 goals and provided 11 assists in 34 appearances for Inter Miami, missing eight matches due to injury. However, his physical condition is increasingly under question.
“Ending in this way here is what I have dreamed of,” Messi emphasized.
The occasion represented what Messi saw as a happy ending for his international football career in Argentina.
“Many things happened, and being able to finish like this here was what I always dreamed of. To be able to celebrate with my people. For many years, I received a lot of love in Barcelona, and my dream was to have that here as well, in my country, with my people. For many years, many things were said, but I have remained with all the good things we did. I stayed with the group that tried and failed to win, but then everything we experienced was beautiful,” Messi concluded.
