What’s Next For Lionel Messi? FIFA World Cup 2026, Inter Miami Contract Or Retirement

The journey of Lionel Messi in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup ended after Inter Miami was thumped 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the round of 16 of the tournament. After they lost to the European titleholders on Sunday, Inter Miami have focused back on their Major League Soccer( MLS), where their season in the Eastern Conference was broken during the Club World Cup event in the USA. But what effect will this loss have on Messi? Here is all you need to know about it.

Lionel Messi’s Future In Inter Miami

The contract of the club captain at Inter Miami is currently running till the end of 2025. Messi has not disclosed his plan for the US team, although the owners of Inter Miami are hopeful that Messi will play longer. Former Man United star David Beckham and Jose, who is the co-owner of the club, have welcomed Lionel Messi after they expressed optimism over his future. “My dream would be for the number 10 [Messi] to inaugurate our new stadium in March [2026],” Jorge said to ESPN. However, he was quick to relinquish control of the situation by saying the decision “rests on Messi”.

“We wish for Messi to finish his career here. I said a few months ago that we should have news in the summer about that, but hopefully it will be as soon as possible. We’re just waiting to be able to give the fans the good news about Lionel Messi," the Inter Miami co-owner added.

Will Lionel Messi Participate In FIFA 2026 Or Retire?

In the FIFA World Cup 2022, which was held in Qatar, the 38-year-old guided Argentina to their third and his maiden FIFA World Cup title. Although the South American giants will feature in the next event that will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the US, Messi has not given an end or a promise to La Albiceleste. He had been in the team when the qualification process started, but injuries had ensured that the football great remained out of the scene in the recent matches. The coach of Argentina, Lionel Scaloni, thinks that there is still enough time to decide on the future of Messi in international football.

“We must go one game at a time, otherwise we will be speaking about the same thing the rest of the year, and we need to leave him alone. We will see,” Scaloni said about Lionel Messi’s future, before adding, “He will decide it whenever he wants. Let’s not drive him crazy with this.”

However, what Messi's teammates wanted was quite clear. “With Messi, we might have scored two or three more goals,” Julian Alvarez said after Argentina’s 4-1 triumph over Brazil in the qualifiers.

In the meantime, Rodrigo de Paul also sympathised with the Messi fans and Argentina, worldwide, by stating: “The best of our teams is always when the number 10 is playing because he is the greatest of all time.”

If The South American Giants can secure the chance of winning the title of FIFA 2026 World Cup once again after winning the 2022 title under the leadership and guidance of their star player Lionel Messi they will become the first team to win twice continuously after Brazil and Italy that too after 64 years and finally break the curse of a country not winning the world cup two times in a row.