Messi: Defending 2026 World Cup title on the pitch would be amazing | OneFootball

Lionel Messi stated this Monday, just days after renewing his contract with Inter Miami until 2028, that winning the World Cup with the Argentine national team was “the dream” of his life and that he would love to defend it on the field next year in North America, as long as he is “one hundred percent” physically.

“It’s going to be spectacular, it’s something extraordinary to be able to play in a World Cup, and I would like to be there, to feel good and feel part of the national team, if I make it. I’ll evaluate it day by day during preseason with Inter, see if I can be at one hundred percent, be useful to the group and then I’ll make a decision,” he anticipated.

“Obviously, I’m really eager because it’s a World Cup. We come from winning the last one and being able to defend it on the field would be spectacular, because it’s always a dream to play with the national team,” Messi said in an interview with the American network NBC, broadcast in English.

Thinking back to the World Cup won in 2022, Messi acknowledged that his mind was on all the sacrifices he made to achieve that success. “What I went through and the journey I took to achieve that, it was the dream of my life, and everything came true. What I went through with my family, my people, and Argentina,” he said.

Messi renewed his contract with Inter Miami last Thursday until 2028, after joining MLS in 2023 from Paris Saint Germain. “I’ve always said that I base my decisions on how I am, day by day, on how I feel physically and mentally to keep playing and keep being part of this club. I felt very good throughout the year, I feel happy living in Miami, as does my family,” he reiterated.

Messi’s Childhood Idols

At another point, the interview turned to the idols of the star’s youth, and he mentioned Diego Maradona, Michael Jordan, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and LeBron James, among others. “Obviously for us Argentines, Maradona was always our greatest idol and we admired him above all for everything he represented, even though I was little and didn’t see him play live much, Diego transcended everything,” he assured.

“Speaking of other sports, it was the same with Michael Jordan, and tennis players like Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic—the three of them made the competition much bigger than it was. Competing for so long to be the best, being so close to each other, made everything much more fantastic,” he continued.

“I’m sure I’m forgetting many athletes, but I’d stick with them. In basketball, LeBron James or Stephen Curry, players who have given a lot to their sport, each in their own way,” he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.