Argentina's Legendary football player Lionel Messi has reportedly confirmed his plan for the FIFA World Cup 2026. The 2022 World Cup winner is currently in China, where he is playing friendlies for his national side against Australia and Indonesia. He had earlier stated that 2022 will be his last World Cup.
Messi has now confirmed that he won't be playing in the 2026 World Cup which is set to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. As per a report by Efe News Agency, Messi confirmed his World Cup plan with Chinese sports outlet Titan Sports. "I think not. (Qatar) was my last World Cup. I'll see how things go, but as it is right now, no, I won't go to the next World Cup," Messi said.
Notably, the seven-time Ballon d'Or award winner also stated that the prestigious honour is not important to him anymore. "It's no longer important for me," Messi added.
Messi was instrumental in taking Argentina over the line in the 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup. He scored 7 goals in the tournament and became the only player to find the back of the net in all games since the round of 16 was introduced in 1986. Messi scored two goals in the final too. He had opened up about his career after that match. "I will not retire," he said. "I want to continue playing as a World Cup champion.
"It's the most beautiful thing there is," Messi told TyC Sports. Look what it is, it's beautiful, I wanted it a lot. God was going to give it to me, I had a feeling that it was this, we suffered a lot, but we got it,” Messi added.
