‘We’ll see’, says Lionel Messi as Argentina captain is unsure about 2026 World Cup
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For now, Lionel Messi said he is focused on the 2024 US-hosted Copa America tournament.
PHOTO: AFP
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BUENOS AIRES – Argentina captain and talisman Lionel Messi has admitted that he is unsure about his participation in the next World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026, when he will be 39.
“I don’t know if I will get there. I don’t think about it yet because it is far away,” he told Argentinian media personality Miguel Granados in an interview broadcast on YouTube on Thursday.
For now, the forward said he is focused on the 2024 US-hosted Copa America tournament.
“After the Copa America, we’ll see. It will depend on how I feel. There are still three years left. I will see how I feel day by day... I don’t notice if my level of play is declining, I play as always. But there is a reality – I’m older, I have a thousand games behind me, and time passes for everyone,” he added.
Messi led Argentina to victory against France in the World Cup final
In the interview, he also reiterated his disappointment with not having received sufficient recognition at his former French club Paris Saint-Germain after winning the global showpiece.
He claimed that he was the only one of his Argentinian teammates “who got no recognition” from PSG.
“It was not what I expected, but I’ve always said that things happen for a reason,” he added of his Paris years, saying that he “wasn’t well there” before he made his move this past summer to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami.
“I was the only player of the (squad) that didn’t get a (club) recognition. But it was understandable... I was in the place where we had won the final and it was our fault that France hadn’t won the World Cup this time.”
However, it is difficult to say that he received totally no support from PSG or his teammates, or that he was instead referring to things behind the scenes.
A public video from January had showed Messi at a ceremony organised by the French champions to celebrate his World Cup victory. In it, he was seen walking through a tunnel to be greeted by applauding teammates and club staff while he was later presented with a trophy bearing his name.
“I am touched by the welcome from all my teammates and the staff,” Messi said in the video, standing in front of a mural depicting the PSG club crest.
Regardless of the truth, or whether he wanted something more than a training ground ceremony, the fact is the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner had stated on numerous occasions that he was unhappy at PSG before moving to Florida to play for the David Beckham-owned Miami.
The 36-year-old has since enjoyed a new lease of life in the US, scoring 11 goals and collecting five assists in 12 games for his new club, although he went off injured during Wednesday’s 4-0 victory over Toronto FC.
“I love what I do. I enjoy playing and now it’s a different way. That is why I made the decision to come to Miami and not continue my career elsewhere – you experience it a different way,” he said.
Messi is under contract with Miami until the end of 2025 and by then he would have to make another decision about his career with the World Cup a year away.
He has not ruled out returning to play for boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys but, for now, retirement is not on his mind.
“I haven’t thought about it (retiring),” the former Barcelona star said.
“I don’t want to think about it because I want to continue to enjoy what I do. I took an important step by leaving Europe and coming here, and I don’t want to think about the next step.” AFP, REUTERS
