Messi lionel
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Lionel Messi on 2026 World Cup: ‘I would like to be there’
Lionel Messi is hopeful he'll be playing for Argentina to help defend its World Cup title when soccer’s biggest event comes to North America next summer.
Speaking with NBC News’ Tom Llamas, Messi said he will see how his body feels next year before choosing whether to play.
“It’s something extraordinary to be able to be in a World Cup, and I would love to,” Messi said, though he admitted his age — he will be 39 next June — is a factor.
Messi added: “I would like to be there, to be well and be an important part of helping my national team, if I am there. And I’m going to assess that on a day-to-day basis when I start preseason next year with Inter [Miami] and see if I can really be 100%, if I can be useful to the group, to the national team, and then make a decision. Obviously, I’m really eager because it’s a World Cup. We’re coming off winning the last World Cup, and being able to defend it on the field again is spectacular because it’s always a dream to play with the national team, especially in official competitions.”
Messi has been playing professionally since 2004. He debuted in La Liga with Barcelona in October of that year at only 17 years old, becoming at the time the youngest player to play for the Spanish club.
In 2021, Messi left Barcelona in the wake of the club’s financial issues, moving to France to play for Paris Saint-Germain. After two years with PSG, Messi brought his talents to the United States, signing with MLS’ Inter Miami.
“The truth is that I like everything about living here,” Messia told Llamas in an interview that aired on "Nightly News" about his life in Miami. “I spent a lot of time in Barcelona, which for me is an extraordinary city, where I grew up and had many spectacular moments, and which we miss a lot. But Miami is a city that allows us to live very well, that makes us enjoy life, that allows us to be calm, that allows the kids to be themselves and live day to day.”
While he enjoyed a decorated individual and club career, international success eluded Messi until the 2022 World Cup, when Argentina defeated France 4-2 on penalties to win the final. Messi won his second Golden Ball and was voted the tournament’s best player.
The World Cup victory was Argentina’s first since 1986. Messi has appeared in 195 matches for his country since 2005, scoring 114 goals.
“It was the dream of my life,” Messi said of the win in 2022. “It was also true that it was the only thing missing at a professional level because I had been lucky enough to have achieved everything at an individual level, at a team level with Barcelona, and I think that’s every player’s dream. When you ask a player what their dream is, it’s to be world champion.”
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