Since lifting the trophy at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, speculation around Lionel Messi’s retirement has never truly stopped. Questions about when Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain will step away from football continue to surface. Each time, the Inter Miami superstar has offered a measured response — his future will depend entirely on his form and fitness.
If everything goes according to plan, Messi is expected to lead the defending champions once again at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, potentially marking the final chapter of his legendary career.
Spanish Coach Wants Messi and Ronaldo to Play Forever
Before that global showdown, Argentina faces another prestigious test. On March 27, the South American champions will face off against European titleholders Spain in the Finalissima. The match will also see Messi come up against Barcelona’s rising sensation, Lamine Yamal.
Ahead of the encounter, Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente delivered glowing praise for the Argentine icon — and made a striking statement.
“𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 — 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒐 𝑹𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒅𝒐. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑫𝒆 𝒍𝒂 𝑭𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑨𝑺.
The Spanish tactician extended the same admiration to Cristiano Ronaldo, expressing his desire to see the Portuguese star continue performing on football’s biggest stages. Ronaldo is also expected to feature in the 2026 World Cup, marking his historic sixth appearance at the tournament.
Currently in fine form for both Portugal and Al Nassr, Ronaldo is charging toward the mythical 1,000-goal milestone, having already netted 973 career goals.
“𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒂 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑, 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕,” 𝑫𝒆 𝒍𝒂 𝑭𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅. “𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆.”
Argentina Legends Back Messi’s World Cup Return
Support for Messi’s continued international journey is not limited to Spain. Former Argentina captain Javier Zanetti has also voiced confidence in Messi’s ability to lead the national team again.
Argentina has been drawn in Group J alongside Algeria, Austria, and Jordan, and Zanetti believes age will not stand in Messi’s way.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒔,” 𝒁𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑨𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑨𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 — 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅.”v
With admiration pouring in from rivals and legends alike, the message is clear: football is not ready to say goodbye to Messi or Ronaldo just yet.
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