Will Lionel Messi return for his seventh World Cup in 2030? The GOAT had this to say

Lionel Messi started his FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign by scoring his first ever hat-trick in the tournament, thus becoming the joint-top scorer of all time at the World Cup.

After the 38-year-old led defending champions Argentina to a stellar 3-0 victory against Algeria on Tuesday, fans have been asking themselves: will Messi return for his seventh World Cup in 2030?

Lionel Messi gives his verdict on his presence at the 2030 FIFA World Cup

Argentine footballing great Lionel Messi won the one trophy that had eluded him for the longest time, the World Cup four years ago in Qatar. He was 35 and captained his team to bring back the trophy home for the first time since Diego Maradona did it in 1986.

Back again in 2026, he gave a standout performance against Algeria on Tuesday at the Kansas City Stadium, becoming the oldest player to score a hat-trick at the world. Immediately football fans began asking, will he consider playing a seventh World Cup four years later?

"No, no, definitely not", replied Messi when asked the question after the match. Ruling out all possibility of him appearing in the next World Cup, he continued talking about his national team, "As I’ve been saying here. The truth is, we’re in good shape to compete."

"This team has always shown that it competes hard and never lets up. No matter the opponent, it always tries to take the lead. The first half wasn’t easy; it’s getting harder and harder to compete. We’ve been seeing in the World Cup that all the matches are very evenly matched, and no one gives you anything for free", he added.

Lionel Messi does not see himself playing in the 2030 World Cup

Despite uncertainties, Messi has returned for the FIFA World Cup 2026, playing his record sixth tournament. The footballer will turn 39 on June 24 and continues to perform at the highest level.

Messi will be 43 when the FIFA World Cup comes around four years later, in 2030 and it is fair for him to assume he will not be in the pink of his physical health to be able to play the tournament.

Lionel Messi is now focussed on giving their best to retain their title of Champion. This extraordinary feat has been achieved only by Italy (1934, 1938) and Brazil (1958, 1962).

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