Lionel Messi has been tipped to retire from professional football before the 2030 World Cup.
The Argentina forward will turn 43 during the next finals in four years time.
Fans had expected Messi to walk away from international football after winning the World Cup in 2022.
However, he remained part of the national team ahead of this summer’s tournament, reaching the third final of his career.
Having scored eight goals and provided four assists, he was unable to guide Argentina to glory as they were beaten by Spain in the final.
The showpiece clash could now prove to be his final international appearance.
Meanwhile, Messi’s current Inter Miami deal runs until the end of 2028, by which point he will be 41.
Although he could continue playing at club level until his contract expires, another World Cup appearance is less concrete.
Messi’s international future
South American football journalist Tim Vickery remains unsure whether Messi will still be playing come the 2030 finals.
Speaking to Max Scott and Charlie Baker on talkSPORT, he was asked if the loss to Spain would be his last Argentina outing.
Vickery responded by admitting: “I don’t know, because defeat for them is so painful that you’ll need a little bit of time to assimilate.
“The next World Cup looks a long, long way off, especially after the evidence of the game.
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“When you’re playing against a team like Spain, it’s really hard to carry someone who doesn’t run.
“You can do it against some other teams, but against Spain, they’re just too good without the ball. It’s really, really tough.
“Before the game I was thinking, ‘could he?’ Could he still be around in four years? When Argentina’s next game is in Buenos Aires in the World Cup, will he?
“Then after the game I’m thinking he’s looking at the stands thinking ‘no’, but I wonder if he can play a role in the transition.”
New role for Messi
Whilst Messi may not feature at the next World Cup, Vickery believes he could remain with the national team to nurture his successor.
He continued: “He’s under contract for Inter Miami for another two-and-a-half years. There’s a Copa America in 2028.
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“Nico Paz, who hardly got a look in this World Cup, partly because he can’t really play with Messi because he wants the ball to feet just like Messi does.
“You can’t have too many of them in your team, but Nico Paz I think is going to be the one for the future.
“I just think it’s possible that Messi could stay in the squad as the kind of wise old owl, as a kind of Master Yoda.
“You could call him Messi Yoda, with Nico Paz as a kind of Luke Skywalker figure. I wonder if that will be the dynamic over the next couple of years.”
Como’s Nico Paz made just two appearances for Argentina during the World Cup, totalling 71 minutes of action.
The 21-year-old currently has one goal to his name in 11 senior caps since making his debut in October 2024.
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Of those, only five have seen him on the pitch at the same time as Messi.
However, the Real Madrid academy graduate is seen as the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s long-term heir for Argentina.
Paz scored once in eight appearances for the Spanish giants before moving to Como two years ago.
He has since featured for the Serie A side 75 times, scoring 19 goals and adding 17 assists.
Argentina will host their first match at the 2030 World Cup on home soil as part of the tournament’s centenary celebrations.
As a result, the Albiceleste have already automatically qualified for the finals alongside Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Paraguay and Uruguay.
