Lionel Messi says ‘I’m not going to play’ in 2026 FIFA World Cup
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There we have it. From Lionel Messi himself.
The global soccer superstar said in an interview televised in China not to expect him to play for Argentina in the next World Cup, to be held in 2026 in Canada, the United States and Mexico.
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Lionel Messi says ‘I’m not going to play’ in 2026 FIFA World Cup Back to video
“I don’t think I’ll play in the next World Cup,” Messi said in the interview, per AS.com. “I’d like to be there to see it, but I’m not going to play.”
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Last Wednesday the GSPE (Greatest Soccer Player Ever) announced his intention to sign with Inter Miami CF of North America’s top men’s pro league, Major League Soccer (MLS). Presumably he’ll begin playing for his third pro club (after FC Barcelona of Spain’s La Liga and Paris St-Germain of France’s Ligue 1) either late next month or in August.
Just last December, Messi led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup championship in Qatar, in a dramatic victory in the final over France. He suggested then that he’d like to play in one more World Cup, but apparently has backed off that intention.
Messi turns 36 on June 24. He would be age 38 when the next World Cup begins on June 11, 2026, and age 39 when it concludes on July 19, 2026.
The expanded 48-country tournament will hold games in 16 North American cities — 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada (in Toronto at BMO Field and Vancouver at BC Place).
Messi added in his interview with Chinese television: “After winning the World Cup, the main trophy I’d never won, I feel satisfied with, and thankful for, the career that I’ve had.”
According to the AS.com story, an Argentine broadcaster reported that Messi is expected to play for Argentina this Thursday in a match against Argentina in Beijing, but won’t travel to Jakarta to join his countrymen in a match against Indonesia next Monday.
By then he’ll have begun a multi-week vacation with family, prior to joining his new Inter Miami team at some point next month.
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