Lionel Messi has turned 38. This player still shines for Inter Miami but cannot play as often as before due to injuries and poor physical condition. Many people expect El Pulga to shine one last time at the 2026 World Cup, before retiring.

However, the Argentine superstar did not dare to promise to participate in the tournament taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico next year. Sharing with Simplemente Futbol, Messi said: “The truth is that I have started to think about it. The World Cup is still a long way away, but time can pass in the blink of an eye, right?

This year is very important for me. I hope to play regularly and feel good. Last year, I participated in the pre-season, played a few games but then missed a lot of games because of injury or physical problems. Now everything is going well. I feel good physically.

However, this season is still very long. It lasts until December this year. Meanwhile, next season does not have a break in June next year. In addition, in June this year, we also compete in the FIFA Club World Cup.

I think about the World Cup and see how things go. I don’t want to set a goal of playing in the World Cup. I’ll take it day by day and see how I feel physically. I have to be honest with my health status.

Messi missed two of Argentina’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil last month due to injury. Coach Lionel Scaloni has urged fans to be patient with Messi’s condition.

Messi is Argentina’s all-time leading scorer with 112 goals in 192 games. He is also the Argentine player with the most World Cup appearances with 26 games and ranks third all-time in World Cup goals with 13 goals.

This season, Messi has scored 8 goals and had 3 assists after 10 matches for Inter Miami in all competitions.