Depends on fitness
©IMAGO
Lionel Messi is still thinking about successfully defending his title with Argentina at the World Cup next year. “It’s something extraordinary to be at a World Cup and I would love to,” said the 38-year-old in an interview with the US broadcaster “NBC”. However, he has not yet made a clear decision and will first have to see how his body behaves in the next few months.
At the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, the Argentine captain would already be 39 years old. This would put him in the World Cup age ranking alongside the Canadian Atiba Hutchinson and the Portuguese Pepe, who were also 39 in Qatar in 2022. The oldest field player in the tournament’s history is Cameroon’s Roger Milla, who took the field in 1994 at the age of 42. Ex-Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadary holds the World Cup record at the age of 45. At least 39 were 17 World Cup participants.
“I want to be there, feel good and make an important contribution to my national team when I’m there,” said Messi about a possible sixth World Cup participation: “And I will re-evaluate that every day when I start pre-season preparation with Inter Miami next year.”
Messi wants to still play in Miami at the age of 41
The exceptional offensive talent emphasized that he wanted to see whether he could really give 100 percent. It only makes sense for him to wear the Albiceleste jersey if the team does better. “We won the last World Cup and it is spectacular to be able to defend this title,” said Messi. For him it is still “a dream to play with the national team, especially in big tournaments.”
The long-time fan favorite of FC Barcelona had just extended his contract with Inter Miami in the North American Major League Soccer by three years. He will stay with co-owner David Beckham’s club until the end of 2028. Messi will then be 41 years old and is currently not thinking about ending his career. This year the title is the big goal: the team from Florida finished the regular season second in the Eastern Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, they won the first game on Saturday 3-1 against Nashville, with Messi scoring a brace. He had previously contributed 29 goals and 16 assists.