Messi on 2026 World Cup: Defending the title 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 the title 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 be at a World Cup, and I would like to be there, feel good, and feel like 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 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 just won 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 about 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 path 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 shifted to the idols of his youth, with the star mentioning Diego Maradona, Michael Jordan, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or LeBron James, among others. “Obviously, for us Argentines, Maradona has always been our greatest idol and the utmost admiration 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 it all 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 gave so much 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.