Lionel Messi provides shock update on his playing future

Legendary forward Lionel Messi has revealed that he does not intend to retire anytime soon, insisted that he has "more years to play".

Messi is widely considered to be the greatest footballer of all time, cementing that legacy in recent years with a FIFA World Cup and two Copa America triumphs with Argentina. At 37 years old, having won everything there is to win in football (twice over), and having left Europe to ply his trade with Inter Miami in MLS, Messi is expected to hang up his boots sooner rather than later.

Fears that Messi may be set to retire soon were exacerbated this past week after his stunning hat-trick in a 6-0 win over Bolivia. Speaking after the vintage outing, Messi admitted that the recent October internationals could be some of his "last" for Argentina.

The wide forward has since clarified his statement during an award ceremony on Thursday, insisting that while he is not targeting an appearance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, he does intend to play for a few more years. "Coming to Inter Miami does not mean I will retire anytime soon, I still have more years to play," Messi told the Spanish publication Marca.

"In the moment, we will see. I don't like to accelerate time or look ahead. I try to enjoy every day. I hope I can keep playing at this level to feel good and be happy. When I get to do what I love I am happy. I value that more than reaching the 2026 [World Cup] tournament. I haven't set a goal to reach the World Cup, but more so to live day-to-day and be well."

If Messi plays at the 2026 tournament, he'll be aiming to become the first player to ever lift the World Cup as his nation's captain on two separate occasions. While Italy and Brazil have previously won two consecutive World Cups, they have done so with different skippers - Gianpiero Combi (1934) and Giuseppe Meazza (1938) for Italy, and Hilderaldo Bellini (1958) and Mauro Ramos (1962) for Brazil.