Lionel Messi (36, Paris Saint-Germain), who lifted the 2022 FIFA World Cup championship trophy in Qatar, expressed his thoughts on participating in the next World Cup.
In an interview with Argentinian media Diario Ole, published on the 2nd (local time), Messi said, “It will be difficult to participate in the 2026 World Cup because of my age,” but “I love soccer and will continue to do it until I can maintain my body and enjoy it. Next There’s still a lot of time until the World Cup, but it remains to be seen what will happen to my career.”
Messi, the core of the Argentine soccer team, took the lead in helping his country rise to the top in 36 years at the World Cup in Qatar, which ended last December.
He scored 7 goals and 3 assists in this World Cup, including scoring multiple goals in the final match against ‘defending champion’ France, and even won the ‘Golden Ball’, the best player of the tournament.
In addition, he left his name as the first player to score in all of the rounds of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals in a single World Cup group league.
Messi, who initially expected the Qatar tournament to be his last World Cup, expressed his desire to play for his national team more after experiencing his victory.
“I want to continue the experience of playing as a world champion,” he said at the time.
Messi will be in his 40s when the 2026 World Cup is held in North and Central America.
However, Messi left the possibility open, saying he wanted to play on the ground until he could continue playing football.
Coach Lionel Scaloni, who leads the Argentine soccer team, also responded positively in an interview with Spanish radio Calvia FM last month, saying, “I think Messi can play in the next World Cup. The door is always open.” 카지노
Meanwhile, Messi confessed that he did not have a deep conversation about the World Cup with his teammate and French striker Kylian Mbappe (25), whom he met as an enemy in Qatar.
“I lost a World Cup final too, and I didn’t want to talk about it,” said Messi, recalling Argentina’s runner-up in Brazil in 2014.
Still, he emphasized, “There is nothing wrong with the relationship with Mbafe.”