Argentina captain Lionel Messi has said that he is unsure about his participation in the next FIFA World Cup in 2026, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“I don’t know if I will get there,” he told Argentine media personality Miguel Garrados in an interview broadcast on YouTube Thursday. “I don’t think about it yet because it is far away.”
By the time of FIFA World Cup 2026, Messi will be 39 years of age. For now, he said he is only focused on the 2024 US-hosted Copa America tournament.
“After the Copa America we’ll see, it will depend on how I feel,” he said. “There are still three years left.”
Messi led Argentina to victory against France in the World Cup final in Qatar last December.
In the interview, he reiterated his disappointment with not having received sufficient “recognition” at his former French club Paris Saint-Germain after holding aloft the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
He claimed he was the only one of his Argentine team mates “who got no recognition” from his club.
“It was not what I expected but I’ve always said that things happen for a reason,” Messi said of his Paris years, adding he “wasn’t well there.”
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner had already stated on numerous occasions that he was unhappy at PSG before moving to Florida to play for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.
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