Lionel Messi speaks on playing at the 2026 World Cup and Ángel Di María

Lionel Messi spoke about playing at the 2026 World Cup with Argentina and Ángel Di María.

Messi will be playing with the Argentina national team at the 2024 Copa America and is presently with the team training in Miami. In an interview with Pollo Alvarez, Messi commented on winning the World Cup, the Copa America and his Argentina career. In the same interview, he also spoke about playing at the 2026 World Cup. Here is what he had to say:

“It depends on how I feel, how I am physically and being realistic with myself. Knowing if I am capable of competing and helping my teammates, knowing how I am physically.

“There’s still a lot of time left… “a lot and a little”, because it goes by quickly. But there is still some time and I don’t know how I will be at that moment. Age is also a reality that is there, even though it’s just a number.

“The matches I will play now aren’t the same as those I played when I was in Europe competing every three days, either in the Champions League or in the league, whether in France or Spain. But it depends on how I feel and what I feel being alongside my teammates and seeing if I am still up to the level or not… let’s see.”

He was also asked about Ángel Di María retiring:

“Di María’s retirement from the National Team? Just yesterday or the day before we were talking that now it’s Ota, Fide, and me, and well… soon it will just be two of us left [after the Copa America], me and Ota [Nicolás Otamendi].”