Lionel Messi doesn't discard playing 2026 WC: 'I want to be here more than ever'

Lionel Messi doesn't discard playing the 2026 World Cup: 'I want to be here more than ever'

Something seems to have changed in Lionel Messi's outlook for the 2026 World Cup

By the time the 2026 World Cup happens in Canada, Mexico and the United States,Lionel Messi will turn 39 years old. In any other footballer's lifespan as a professional, they mostly tend to retire at 35 or 36 years old. Some even retire much earlier than that, but Messi was so thirsty for this success that he truly feels like this is a dream and he doesn't want to wake up from it. Now that the majority of people in Argentina love him after winning the trophy, all he cares about is staying active until he truly can't keep playing anymore. Next summer's Copa America in the United States is as far as Messi can see right now, he is getting ready to defend the title his side won in 2021. Leo will turn 37 when that happens but a recent interview gave Argentineans hope that they might have him in the next World Cup as well.

Messi flirts with the idea of playing the 2026 World Cup

It is only natural that every single Argentine journalist tries to convince Leo Messi that playing the 2026 World Cup is in his best interest. Messi just gave an interview to ESPN Argentina, where he discussed his present with the national team and the uncertain future. Although he did leave the door open for a potential World Cup participation, it will all depend on one specific thing. As long as he stays healthy and the group is still hungry for more trophies, Messi will keep representing his country. The upcoming Copa America will be a perfect way for him to measure whether this group is still willing to keep going to war with him and leave it all in the battlefield.

Messi on World Cup win: After struggles in Argentina, fans love me

Almost one year after Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup trophy for Argentina in Qatar, the Inter Miami CF star revisited the complicated path to the title and expressed his satisfaction at turning criticism into praise in his country.

In an interview, Messi said one of his top triumphs from winning the World Cup and Copa América with Argentina is having the "beautiful feeling" of being loved by "95% or 100% of Argentines."

"I had a bad time. My family and the people who love me did too. [Critics in Argentina] were very unfair to a generation of players and they said a lot of bad things about me. I'm not spiteful," Messi said.

"I feel it like a triumph for me to have changed that situation and won over all the people of Argentina. Today 95% or 100% of Argentines love me and that's a beautiful feeling."

Messi made his debut for Argentina in 2005, but his first title in a major tournament came in 2021 after beating Brazil in the Copa América final. In between came some heartbreaking defeats, including ones at the 2011 and 2016 Copa América tournaments and a shocking round-of-16 loss to France at the 2018 World Cup. In the 18 months after winning the Copa América, he led the Albiceleste to the Finalissima trophy at Wembley Stadium in London and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Messi said he was fortunate to be so beloved at Barcelona and it was his biggest dream to win the World Cup.

"It is the thing most everyone desires. Everyone dreams big and the biggest is to be world champion with your national team. I was lucky to achieve everything at the club level with Barcelona and also at the individual level. This was the only thing that eluded me. There are very few players who can say that they have achieved everything and thanks to God I am one of them," Messi said.

"If you put in the effort, sacrifice, work and humility, in the end, you achieve your goals," he added. "The road can be hard, but you have to keep fighting for your dreams to try to achieve them. I always loved playing football, coming to the national team and being on the field, but I never enjoyed it like today."