Lionel Messi
Argentine forward, World Cup winner in 2022, eight-time Ballon d'Or, second-highest all-time World Cup scorer.
Messi closed his record sixth World Cup on 19 July with a 1-0 final defeat to Spain and the Silver Ball, after Kylian Mbappe overtook his all-time scoring record; he has ruled out a seventh in 2030.
Last refreshed: 23 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can a 38-year-old Messi complete an unprecedented farewell by winning a second World Cup in Sunday's final against Spain?
Timeline for Lionel Messi
A named source says Messi plays on
2026 FIFA World CupMentioned in: Otamendi ends his career with Argentina
2026 FIFA World CupSpain meet Argentina at MetLife with Golden Boot live
2026 FIFA World CupRuled out playing at the 2030 World Cup and took the Silver Ball
2026 FIFA World Cup: Messi rules out 2030, says nothing elseFailed to score in the final, leaving Mbappe's Golden Boot tally unchallenged
2026 FIFA World Cup: Mbappe wins a second Golden BootBackground
Messi played his sixth World Cup in 2026 at 38, the first outfield player to reach six tournaments, and reached the finals alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, the first time two men had done so . Argentina named him in a record squad on 28 May .
He has won eight Ballon d'Or awards, a men's record, and passed 800 career goals since starting at FC Barcelona in 2004. A season at Paris Saint-Germain followed before he joined Inter Miami CF in Major League Soccer in 2023, where he remains. At international level he ended a 28-year trophy drought by winning the Copa America in 2021, then the FIFA World Cup in 2022 in Qatar.
The 2026 tournament closed that run with a runner-up finish; he ruled out playing at the next World Cup in 2030 but said nothing else on the record about his Argentina future .
Messi closes a record sixth World Cup
Messi's sixth World Cup, the first for any outfield player, began when Lionel Scaloni named him in Argentina's record squad on 28 May . He spent June rewriting his own all-time World Cup scoring record, reaching 19 goals before Kylian Mbappe retook the tally in the tournament's closing week.
He took the Silver Ball as the tournament's second-best player after Argentina lost the 19 July final to Spain, then ruled out playing at a seventh World Cup in 2030 while saying nothing else on the record about his Argentina future .