Lionel Messi, the Argentine icon who completed sixteen glorious years in professional football by lifting the 2022 Qatar World Cup, has once again sparked excitement among fans. The burning question of whether the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner will feature in the 2026 FIFA World Cup seems to have a positive answer this time.
Earlier, Messi had said he would only play in the next World Cup if his fitness allowed him to perform at his best. Now, a recent gesture by the football legend appears to suggest that he is ready to chase another golden dream.
Adidas Campaign Hints at Messi’s 2026 World Cup Return
Global sports giant Adidas recently unveiled the official 2026 World Cup jerseys for 22 countries, including Argentina. In their promotional video, several Argentine figures were featured — coach Lionel Scaloni, retired World Cup-winning midfielder Ángel Di María, and AFA president Claudio Tapia — discussing what appeared to be an exciting, secretive topic.
Throughout the video, stars such as Rodrigo De Paul, Cristian Romero, Julián Álvarez, and Nicolas González are seen speaking enthusiastically about Argentina’s World Cup ambitions. The AFA captioned the video:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓!”
This message references Argentina’s quest to claim its fourth World Cup title, having won its third in Qatar in 2022. Toward the end of the video, Tapia declares, “I want number four,” while Lionel Messi, picking up a few cards, smiles and replies,
“𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙤.”
Argentine media outlet TyC Sports interpreted this scene as Messi’s subtle confirmation that he is gearing up to lead Argentina in its mission to win another World Cup in 2026.
Lionel Messi Shares His Ambitions for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Lionel previously hinted at his eagerness for the upcoming World Cup during a speech at the American Business Forum in Florida. The 37-year-old maestro shared his enthusiasm, saying:
“𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅.”
He emphasized that lifting the World Cup trophy in 2022 was the pinnacle of his career, calling it “the biggest achievement for any footballer.”
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo recently remarked that the World Cup is the ultimate stage for determining the best footballer in the world. Responding gracefully, Lionel Messi noted:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆. 𝑰’𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 — 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒃 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍. 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒑𝒂 𝑨𝒎é𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒓.”
Messi Joins Argentina Squad Ahead of Angola Friendly
As Argentina prepares for its final match of 2025, Lionel Messi has joined the squad for the friendly against Angola on November 14. With no other games before the year ends, coach Scaloni has arranged a training camp in Spain to fine-tune his players.
While Lionel Messi is part of the squad, it remains uncertain whether he will feature in the match. Currently focused on Inter Miami’s MLS playoff campaign, the Argentine captain is managing his workload carefully.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his participation, Messi’s presence in the squad — and his subtle hint through Adidas’s campaign — has reignited fans’ hopes of seeing him lead Argentina once again on football’s grandest stage in 2026.
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